t6(H 




HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



VI 



CONTAINING 

A COLLECTION OF THE MOST INTERESTING FACTS, TRADITIONS, 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, ANECDOTES, &c. 

RELATING TO 

ITS HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES, 

TOGETHER WITH 

GEOGRAPHICAL AND STATISTICAL DESCRIPTIONS. 

TO WHICH IS APPENDED, 

AN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH 

OF THE 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



ILLUSTRATED BY 

OVER 100 ENGRAVINGS, 

GIVING 

VIEWS OF THE PRINCIPAL TOWNS,— SEATS OF EMINENT MEN,- 

PUBLIC BUILDINGS,— RELICS OF ANTIQUITY,— HISTORIC 

LOCALITIES, NATURAL SCENERY, ETC., ETC. 



BY HENRY HOWE 



[Arras of Virginia.] 




[Thus alv'.^ys with tyrants.J 



CHARLESTON, S. C. 
PUBLISHED BY BABCOCK & CO. 

1846. 



ENTERED, 

According to the Act of Congkess, in the year 1845, 

BY BABCOCK & CO., 

In the office of the Clerk of the District Court or 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 

r c c o 



H§5: 



/ 



7/ 



PREFACE. lU 



PREFACE. ^:f 



The primary object of the following- pages is to narrate the most prominent 
events in the history of Virginia, and to give a geographical and statistical view 
of her present condition. Similar volumes* have appeared on Pennsylvania, 
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. The favorable recep- 
tion of these in their respective states, has led to the opinion that one upon Virginia 
— the mother of states and statesmen, the " Old Dominion," so rich in historic 
lore — would meet not only the approval of Virginians, but be favorably received 
by others. 

Early in the year 1843 we commenced travelling over the state, collecting ma- 
terials and taking sketches for illustrations. Every section of the commonwealth 
was visited. The better to effect our purpose, we occasionally journeyed hun- 
dreds of miles on foot, often sharing alike the hospitality of the planter and the 
mountaineer, and cheered onward by pleasant interviews with some of her most 
intell) . it citizens. Much valuable information has been thus obtained, by obser- 
vation Lid inquiry, and interesting but scattered details of her history and anti- 
'jiiies cdlected in a form to ensure their preservation. Written communications, 
moreover, have been received, embodying facts enhancing the value of this publi- 
cat'"ii. md placing us under lasting obligation to their authors. 

J. iix^ work has three departments. The first — an outline, or general history — 
comprises an abstract of leading events from the first settlement of Virginia to the 
present time ; the first five chapters of which are from the admirably written his- 
torical sketch in Martin's Gazetteer,! and the last by a gentleman personally 
familiar with most of the events related. The second consists of miscellanies, 
intended to throw light upon the past and present condition of the commonwealth. 
The third and principal department, is arranged in counties, in alphabetical order, 
where each is successively described. In this are the descriptions of towns, lite- 
rary institutions, historic localities, seats and memoirs of eminent Virginians, 
antique structures, natural scenery, anecdotes, local history, and events but glanced 
at in the outline sketch, fully detailed. 



* The first— on Connecticut — was published in 1836 ; the one on Massachusetts, 1838 ; New York, 
1841 ; Pennsylvania, 1843, and New Jersey, 1844. Connecticut and Massachusetts were prepared by 
John W. Barber — the pioneer in works on this plan ; New York and New Jersey by John W. Barber 
and Henry Howe ; and Pennsylvania by Sherman Day. 

t This work, published in 1836, was the first issued descriptive of Virginia, since the celebrated notes 
of Mr. Jefierson. Oar publishers having purchased the copyright, we have availed ourselves of it ia 
preparing this volume. 



IV PREF,VCE. 

Thus the volume comprehends a history and a gazetteer. Its advantages over 
formal histories are, that the events and their localities are given together, serving 
more strongly to impress the memory ; the past and present are in juxtaposition, 
and many events given which regular history, in her stately march, does not step 
aside to notice — events usually considered of minor importance, but forming the 
undercurrent of history, and useful in illustrating the advancement and condition 
of society. 

Written history forms but a small part of occurrences. The vicissitudes of war 
have been considered more worthy of narration, than those things promoting the 
wellbeing of man. Says an eminent essayist : " The perfect historian considers 
no anecdote, no peculiarity of manner, no familiar saying, as too insignificant for 
his notice, which is not too insignificant to illustrate the operation of laws, of re- 
ligion, and of education, and to mark the progress of the human mind." 

The great variety of subjects presented, and the almost impossibility of pro- 
ducing such a publication without errors and imperfections, has created a degree 
of diffidence in submitting it to the public. It will doubtless come before many 
possesing better means of information, and more knowledge on some subjects 
introduced, than could reasonably be expected in us. 

Besides drawing largely from a great variety of publications, we are enabled to 
present much not previously published, as well a.<3 that inaccessible to the mass of 
rea;ders. We do not, however, consider ourselves responsible for every sentiment 
introduced in these pages. In order to form a correct judgment, it is useful to 
hear the opinions of those who differ from us in their religious or political senti- 
ments. 

The drawings for the numerous engravings were, with a few exceptions only, 
taken by us on the spot. We trust they have an honest look, and faithfully repre- 
sent their originals. Some biographical sketches are doubtless omitted, not less 
important than many inserted, while others have not due prominence. In some 
few cases we have supposed the reader to be familiar with them, while in others 
it arises from the extreme difficulty of obtaining the desired information. 

The history of Virginia is of deep interest ; but one imperfectly chronicled. 
Much is left to the investigation of the antiquarian, and many a thrilling episode 
is lost in the lapse of generations. Yet enough remains to stimulate to the loftiest 
patriotism ; while the memory of her illustrious sons is cherished with just pride 
by our common country. 




J". T. r ..* 



L 



INDEX. 



{Id- The counties 6etng: arranged in alphabetical order in this work, supersedes the neces- 
*iiy of placing them in the index. 



CITIES AND TOWNS. 



Abingdon, 498 
Amsterdam, 203 
Aldie, 354 
Alexandria, 542 
Ayletts, 359 

Banister, 290 
Bath, 386 
Bassetville, 389 
Barboursville, 417 
Belville, 516 
Bethany, 194 
Berryviile, 233 
Berkeley Springs, 386 
Beverly, 444 
Big Lick, 448 
Bowling Green, 215 
Boydton, 378 ' 
Blacksville, 382 
Blacksburg, 385 
Bloomfield, 354 
Brookneal, 210 
Brucetown, 272 
Bridgeport, 301 
Brentsville, 442 
Brownsburg, 448 
Buchanon, 203 
Buffalo, 360 

Cartersville, 237 
Ca Ira, 237 
Capeville, 404 
Centerville, 254, 496 
Charlottesville, 164 
Charlestovsrn, 341 
Charleston, 343 
Christiansburg, 385 
Chuckatuck, 386 
City Point, 440 
Columbia, 270 
Cold Stream Mill, 291 
Competition, 429 
Clarksburg, 301 
Clarksville, 378 

Darksville, 191 
Deep Creek, 400 
Deaton, 460 
Drummondstown, 163 
Dumfries, 442 
Dunkirk, 348 



Eastville, 404 
Edinburg, 467 
Edom Mills, 460 
Elizabethtovpn, 368 
Elizabeth, 516 
Estillville, 464 

Fairview, 194 
Faber's Mills, 388 
Fairfax, 237 
Fayetteville, 267 
Fairmont, 372 
Farmsville, 432 
Falmouth, 484 ' 
Fairfield, 448 
Fincastle, 202 
Flint Hill, 447 
Frankfort, 284, 291 
Franklin, 428 
Fredericksburg, 474 
Front Royal, 497 

Gap Mills, 383 
Gainsboro', 272 
Georgetown, 542 
Gerardstown, 191 
Gosport, 400 
Gordonsville, 417 
Greenville, 177 
Grave Creek, 368 
Granville, 382 
Guyandotte, 209 
Gwyn's Island, 376 

Hampton, 248 
Hallsboro', 220 
Harper's Ferry, 334 
Harrisville, 447 
Harrisonburg, 460 
Heathsville, 404 
Hicksford, 289 
Hillsboro', 354 
Homtown, 163 
Holliday's Cove, 194 
Holtsville, 372 
Huntersville, 430 

Indian Town, 349, 470 

Jamestown, 317, 382 
Jacksonville, 270, 488 
Jefferson, 430 



Jefferson ton, 237 
Jerusalem, 470 
Jonesville, 351 

Kempsville, 435 
Keysville, 220 
Kilmarnock, 350 
Kingwood, 432 

Lawrenceville, 206 
Lawnsville, 352 
Lafayette, 385 
Lewisville, 206 
Leesburg, 353 ^ 

Leesville, 210 
Lewisburg, 284 
Lewisport, 301 
Leetown, 334 
Lewiston, 359 
Leon, 360 
Lexington, 448 
Lebanon, 463 
Liberty, 188 
Little Plymouth, 348 
Liberia, 442 
Loretto, 253 
Lovettsville, 354 
Lovingston, 388 
Luray, 425 
Lynchburg, 210 

Manchester, 229 
Martinsville, 315, 496 
Martinsburg, 191 
Marion, 469 
Maysville, 207 
Marysville, 220* 
Middlebrook, 177 
Millboro' Spring, 185 
Millwood, 235 
Middletown, 272 
Milford, 301 
Middleway, 334 
Millville, 349 
Middleburg, 353 
Milford, 372 
Middletown, 496 
Modist-town, 163 
Mount Solon, 177 

" Meridian, 177 

" Gilead, 354 



A 



VI 



INDEX. 



Mount Crawford, 460 
Moorefield, 300 
Montville, 354 
Morgantown, 381 

New Canton, 207 
" Glasgow, 176 
" Baltimore, 262 
" Hope, 177 
" London, 210 
" Manchester, 194 
« Market, 388, 467 

Newbern, 443 

Newtown, 272, 348 

Newport, 372 

Norfolk, 394 

Occoquan, 442 

Old Point Comfort, 252 

Pattonsburg, 203 

Palmyra, 270 

Parisburg, 278 

Paddytown, 291 

Palatine, 372 

Parkersburg, 516 

Petersburg, 242 

Peterstown, 383 

Philippi, 187 

Philmont, 354 

Point Pleasant, 360 

Port Royal, 215 
" Conway, 349 
«' Republic, 460 

Portsmouth, 400 



Princeton, 379 
Prunty Town, 487 
Pungoteague, 163 

Ravenswood, 317 

Rapid Ann M'g House, 360 

Richmond, 303 

Ripley, 317 

Rocky Mount, 272 

Romney, 290 

Rough Creek Ch., 220 

Salem, 447 
Saltville, 469 
Scottsville, 164 
Scottville, 430 
Shinnstown, 301 
Sistersville, 496 
Shepherd stown, 336 
Somerville, 262 
Smithfield, 315, 382 
Smithville, 430 
Snickersville, 354 
Spring Hill, 177 
Sperryville, 447 
Staunton, 177 
Stephensburg, 272 
Stevensburg, 237 
Strasburg, 467 
Suffolk, 386 
Summerville, 392 
Sutton, 193 

Tappahannoc, 253 
Taylorsville, 427 



Terra Salis, 344 
Thoroughfare, 442 
Trout Run, 299 
Trouts' Hill, 506 

Union, 354, 383 
Faion Hall, 272 
Urbanna, 379 
Upperville, 261 

Warm Springs, 184 
Warwick, 229 
Waynesboro', 177 
Warrenton, 261 
Wardensville.,59T 
Waterford, 354^ 
Washington, 447 
Washington City, 534 
Wellsburg, 194 
Weston, 351 
West Union, 368 
Westville, 376 
West Liberty, 407 
White Post, 235 
Whitehall, 272 
Wheeling, 407 
Winchester, 272 
Williamsburg, 321 
Williamsport, 487 
Woodstock, 467 
Woodville, 447 
Wytheville, 514 

Yorktown, 519 



GENERAL OR OUTLINE HISTORY. 



CHAPTER I. 



-ROANOKE SETTLEMENTS. 



INTRODUCTION — PROGRESS OF COMMERCE- 

Discovery of America.— England.— Want of commerce in early times.— Voyoges of the Cabots.— Progress 
of English discovery— Frobisher— Gilbert— Kaleigh.— Failure of the Roanoke settlements Page H 

CHAPTER n. 

SETTLEMENT AT JAMES TOWN — SUFFERINGS OF THE COLONIES — ADVENTURES OF SMITH. 

New company raised— its charter.— James Town.— Machinations against Smith.— Difficulties of the 
colony.— Smith taken prisoner— his release.— Arrival of Newport.— Discovery of eartli believed to be 
gold.— Departure of Newport.— Survey of the Chesapeake and its waters by Smith.— Smith made 
president.— Second arrival of Newport.— Judicious conduct of Smith.— New charter.— New arrival of 
eniiorants.— Badness' of the selection. — New settlements.— Accident to Smith — his departure— his 
character Page22 

CHAPTER HI. 

PROGRESS OF THE COLONY— MASSACRE OF 1622— DISSOLUTION OF THE LONDON COMPANT. 

State of the colony at Smith's departure— its conduct and subsequent sufferings.- Arrival of Gates— of 
Lord De La Ware— his departure.— Arrival of Dale.— Martial law.— Gates governor.— Grants of land 
to individuals.— New charter.— Marriage of Pocahontas.— Friendly relations with the Indians.— Culti- 
vation of tobacco.— Tenure of lands.— Tyranny of Argall.— Propriety of reform in the goi'ernment.— 
Yeardley j:overnor.— First colonial assembly in 1619.— Introduction of women.— Introduction of negroes 
by the Dutch in 1620.— Constitution brought over by Sir Francis Wyatt.— Relations with the Indians.— 
Massacre of the 22d of March, 1623— its consequences.— Struggles between the king and the company. 
— Comniissioners sent to Virginia.— Firmness of the Virginians.— Dissolution of the company. .Pa^e 34 



_L.._. 



INDEX. Vll 

CTT/VPTER IV. 

PROGRESS OF THE COLONY FROM THE DISSOLUTION OF THE LONDON COMPANY TO THE BREAKING OCT 
OF bacon's REBELLION IN 1675. 

Accession of Char'es I. — Tobacco trade. — Yeardley governor — his commission fevorable — his death and 
character. — Lord Baltimore's reception. — State of rejigion — legislation upon the subject. — Invitation 
to the Puritans to settle on Delaware Bay. — Harvey governor. — Grant of Carolina and Maryland. — 
Harvey deposed — restored. — Wyatt governor. — Acts of the legislature improperly censured. — Berkeley 
governor. — Indian relations. — Opechancanough prisoner — his death. — Change of government in Eng- 
land. — Fleet and army sent to reduce Virginia.— Preparation for defence by Berkeley. — Agreement 
entered into between the colony and the commissioners of the commonwealth. — Indian hostilities. — 
Matthews elected governor. — Difficulties between the governor and the legislature — adjusted. — State 
of the colony and its trade. — Commissioners sent to England. — The Restoration. — General legisla- 
tion • Page 51 

CHAPTER V. 

bacon's REBELLION — HOSTILE DESIGNS OF THE FRENCH. 

Indifference to change in England. — Navigation Act. — Convicts. — Conspiracy detected. — Discontents. — 
Cessation from tobacco planting for one year. — Royal grants. — Virginia's remonstrance. — Success of 
deputies. — Indian hostilities. — Army raised and disbanded by governor. — People petition for an army — 
elect Bacon commander — he inarches without commission and defeats Indians — pursued by governor, 
who retreats on hearing of rising at Jamestown.— Governor makes concessions. — Bacon prisoner — is 
pardoned. — People force commission from governor. — Bacon marches to meet Indians — hears he is 
declared a rebel by Berkeley — marches to meet him— he flees to Accomac. — Convention called and 
free government established. — Bacon defeats the Indians.— Berkeley obtains possession of the ship- 
ping, and occupies Jamestown — is besieged by Bacon, and driven out. — Jamestown burnt. — Death of 
Bacon — character of his enterprise. — Predatory warfare — treaty between governor and his opponents. — 
Cruelty of Berkeley.^King's commissioners. — Departure of Berkeley and his death. — Acts of Assembly 
passed during Bacon's influence. — Conduct of king's commissioners. — Culpeper governor. — Discontents. 
— Conduct of Beverly. — Howard governor. — General conduct of Virginia and progress of affairs. — 
Plan of Callier for dividing the British colonies Page 69 

CHAPTER VI. 

EVENTS FROM THE YEAR 1705 TO THE TERMINATION OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

Gov. Nicholson superseded by Nott, and he by Jennings. — Administration of Gov. Spotswood. — Drysdale 
governor — succeeded by Gooch. — Death of Rev. James Blair. — Notice of Col. William 3'yrd. — Gooch'i 
charge to the grand jury against Presbyterians, Methodists, &c.— Burning of the capitol at Williams- 
burg. — Revision of the colonial laws. — Departure of Gooch. — Dinwiddle governor. — Encroachments of 
the French. — Mission of George Washington beyond the AUeghanies to the French couimandant of a 
fort — its inauspicious results. — Gov. Dinwiddle prepares to repel the encroachments of the French. — 
Expedition against them under Col. Fry, and the erection of Fort Duquesne.— Washington's skirmish 
with Juinonville— he erects Fort Necessity — he surrenders to the French, and marches back to Vir- 
ginia.— The Burgesses pass a vote of thanks to him. — Gov. Dinwiddie resolves to prosecute the war — 
the futility of his projects.— Arrival of Gen. Braddock.— Braddock's defeat. — Bravery of Washington 
and the Virginia troops. — Frontiers open to incursions from the savages. — Fauquier governor. — Troops 
destined for the conquest of Duquesne rendezvous at Raystown. — Defeat of Major Grant, and heroism 
of Captain Bullet. — Fort Duquesne evacuated. — End of the war Page 88 

CHAPTER Vn. 

FROM THE TERMINATION OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR TO THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS. 

Encroachments of Britain upon the American colonies. — Spirited conduct of Virginia thereon. — Patrick 
Henry's resolution on the right to tax America. — Death of Governor Fauquier.— Arrival of Lord Botte- 
tourt. — Continued aggressions of the mother country. — Death of Bottetourt. — Lord Dunmore governor. — 
Dunmore's war. — Battle of Point Pleasant. J-Speech of Logan.— End of the Indian war.-;-Meeting of the 
Continental Congress.— Dunmore removes the gunpowder of the colony from the magazine at Wil- 
liamsburg.— Patrick Hemy forces the receiver-general to make compens.ition. — Dunmore flees on 
board the Fowey man-of-war.— Meeting of the Virginia Convention.— Dunmore, with the British fleet, 
attacks Hampton.— Affair in Princess Anne. — Defeat of the enemy at Great Bridt;e.— Norfolk burnt. — 
Delegates in Congress instructed by the General Convention of Virginia to propose the Declaration of 
Independence. — A constitution for the state government adopted. — Patrick Henry governor. — ^Dunmore 
driven from Gwynn's Island.— First meeting of the legislature under the state constitution.— Indian 
■war.— Col. Christian makes peace with the Creek and Cherokee nations.— Revision of the state laws.— 
Glance at the war at the north. — Sir Henry Clinton appointed commander-in-chief of the British army. 
—He transfers the seat of the war to the south.— Sir George Collier, with a British fleet, enters Hampton 
Roads.— Fort Nelson abandoned.— The enemy take possession of Portsmouth, and burn Suffolk.— They 
embark for New York.— Gen. Leslie invades Virginia, and lands at Portsmouth.— The government 
prepares to resist the enemy.— Leslie leaves Virginia.— Arnold invades Virginia, Innds at Westover, 
and marches to Richmond.— He returns to Westover, and arrives at Portsmouth.— Washington forms 
a plan to cut ofl' his retreat.— Clinton detaches Gen. Philips to the assistance of Arnold.— Defenceless 
situation of Virginia.— Philips takes possession of Petersburg, and commits depredations in the vicinity. 
—Death of Gen. Philips.— Cornwallis enters Petersburg.— Tarleton's expedition to Chariottesville.— 
Various movements of the two armies.— Cornwallis concentrates his army at York and Gloucester.— 
Surrender of Cornwallis Page 104 

CHAPTER Vin. 

FROM THE CLOSE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION TO THE PRESENT TIME. 

End of the war.— Action of the Virginia Convention upon the federal constitution.— Origin of the Federal 
and Democratic parties.— Opposition to the alien and sedition laws in Virginia.— Report of Mr. Madi- 
son thereon.— War of 1812.— Revision of the state constitution in 1839-30.— Action of Virginia upon 
the subject of slavery in 1831-2.— Policy of the state in reference to internal improvement and educa- 
^on Pagem 



Vlll 



TNDKX. 



MISCELLANIES. 



Page 

Academy, the first in the valley of Va 454 

Allen's Cave 497 

Anecdotes, revolutionary 290 359 

Ann, Mad, notice of n3 

Archer, Col. Wm 173 

Archer, Dr. B.T 431 

Arnold 243 305 399 

Ashley, Gen. Wm. H 431 

Austin, Stephen, birthplace of 515 

Bacon's Castle 486 

Baptist, warrior parson. 258 

" preacher confined at Fairfax 239 

Baptists, history and persecutions of 379 

college of 312 487 539 

Banks, Linn • 360 

Barbour, Gov 424 

" Judge 424 

Baylor, Col 293 

Blackburn, Gen 186 

Blannerhasset, notice of 516 

Bland, Col. Theodorick 440 

" Eichard 441 

Blind Preacher 350 

Blind, institution for the 179 

Blowing Cave 185 

Boatmen, life of 496 

Booker, Wonder, longevity of. 435 

Bottetourt, Lord 326 

Brady, Capt. Samuel 200 

Braxton, Carter •_ 348 

Burk, the historian.- 348 

ButTaloKnob 270 

BurstedRock, the 428 

" Campbellites," sketch and college of 193 

Campbell, Col. Arthur, biography of 503 

Gen. Wm 504 505 

Carrington, Judge Paul 220 

Carr, Dabney 358 

Gaudy's Castle 292 

Catholic Colleges 312 542 

Census of 1840 160 

Certificates, revolutionary 240 

Church, the Established, abolition of 142 

Church, ancient.234 247 255 311 315 317 342 381 395 

Champe, Sergeant 352 

City, ancient, relics of an 209 

Clay, Henry 293 

Clarke, Gen. Geo. Rogers 234 

" Gen. Wm 234 

Coal Mines of Eastern Va 230 

Columbian College 539 

Convention, troops of 165 

Convention of 1788 and 1829-30 312 

Cornstalk, murder of 364 

Country, description of, on the Big Sandy." •■ 500 

Craney Island, attack on 403 

Crawford, Col 103 

Cunningham, Capt. Wm 251 

Culpeper minute-men •__• 237 

Cyclopean Towers • 180 

Dale, Commodore 403 

Dan, the passage of 427 

Darke, Gen 340 

Davies, Rev. Samuel 293 

Davison, J., anecdote of 435 

Deaf and Dumb 179 

Declaration of Independence at Richmond- ••• 313 

Dick Pointer, heroism of 287 

Dismal Swamp 401 

Dodridge, Philip, anecdotes of- 197 



Pago 

Dodridge, Rev. J., work of 198 

Dunmore's palace 328 

Early settlers, customs of in nw. Va 198 372 

Eastern shore described 404 

" monumental inscription on 405 

Eggleston, Major 174 

Emory and Henry College 498 

Emigration to Va. from the North 254 

Episcopal church, first in valley of Va 273 

Episcopal Theological Seminary 543 

Eulen'sleap 366 

Fairfax, Lord 235 275 

" stone 300 

Foreman, Capt., defeat of 368 

Forsyth, Hon. John.... 484 

Fort Donnally, attack on 287 

" Henry, siege of- 409 

" Loudon 274 

" Nelson, abandoned 399 

" Rice, attack of. 201 

" Savannah 285 

" Seybert, massacre at 428 

" Young 172 

" at Point Pleasant 366 

Forts of early settlers described 201 

Fortification, ancient • 270 

Francisco, Peter 207 

Garden, the Devil's 300 

Gates, Gen 192 

German settlers, customs of 461 

Germanna, ancient town of 475 

Giles, Gov 170 

Gilmer, F.W 165 265 

Gigantic race, relics of a 469 

Girardin, the historian 248 

Glass windows, the 444 

Grundy, Hon. Felix 193 

Greenbrier, early settlements in 285 

Grayson, Hon. Wm 442 

Graham, Rev. W., anecdotes of- 455 

Great Bridge, battle of- 397 

Gwyn's Island, battle at 376 

Harrison, President 218 

Hon. Benj 218 

Hanging Rocks, battle near 292 

Hampden Sidney College 433 

Henry, Patrick 213 220 295 

Helphistine, Major - 275 

Henrico, origin of its name 302 

Hoge, Rev. M 434 

Houston, President 455 

Horses, wild 163 

Hughs, Jesse, anecdotes of. 301 

Huguenot settlement 431 

Ice Mountain 291 

Indian incursions 173 204 278 286 468 

Indian graves 426 

" mounds 350 456 

" relics 300 

Indians, ancient, of Va 135 

" relics of in eastern Va 349 470 

" skirmish with 300 

Insane and idiotic persons, number of in Va. . . 179 

James City, battles in 319 

Jefferson, President 168 214 

Jefferson's Rock 335 

Joe Logston, anecdotes of 445 






INDEX. 



IX 



Page 

Johnsons, intrepidity of- 416 

Johnson, Judge Peter 505 

Kanawha, falls of 257 

" saltworks 344 

" gas wells 346 

" pictured rocks at 346 

Kenton, Gen. Simon 267 

Laws, ancient 150 

Law, Lynch, origin of 212 

Lead Mines of Wythe 515 

Lee, Gen. Charles 191 

" Francis Lightfoot 511 

" Gov 511 

" Richard Henry 510 

Lewis, Meriwether • 171 

" Gen. Andrew 204 

« Charles 182 302 

" family 181 

" Colonel Fielding 482 

Life in western Va 1.52 

" in eastern Va 156 

Longevity, list of remarkable cases of 148 

Long Island, battle of 501 

Littlepage, Lewis 483 

Lucas family 279 

Lunatic Asylum 178 321 

Luray, cave at 425 

M'Nutt,Gov 4.56 

Mad Ann 172 

Mason, George 260 

Marshall, John 262 275 

Marshall's Pillar 268 

Massie, Gen. N 233 

Marriages, poetical notices of 3.32 

Madison, D. D., James 333 

Madison, President 422 

Mammoth mound 370 

Matoaca, inscriptions at 229 

Medical Colleges 312 ,539 

Mercer, Gen. H 480 

Meredith, Capt 251 

Mommiental Inscriptions at Hampton 249 

" " oldest in Virginia 261 

" " at Turkey Island.... 312 

" " atNorfolk 396 

" " at York 521 523 

" " at Washington 540 

Morgan, Gen. D 233 276 

" anecdote of 515 

■ Moore family, captivity and murder of 489 

Moore's Lamentation, a song 495 

Moore, Hon. A 4,56 

Moore house 530 

Monroe, President, 356 

Muhlenburg, Gen. P 468 

Natural Pillars 278 

" Bridge 457 

" Tunnel 464 

Negro duel 351 

Nelson family, seat of 295 

" Gov. 522 

Newspapers, rirst in Va 331 

Norfolk, burning of 398 

Obituary 148 

Old Church 520 

" Capitol 305 329 

" Dominion, origin of the name 131 

" magazine 328 

" Raleigh tavern 330 

O'Hara, Gen., anecdote of 245 

Opechancanough's residence 349 

Page, Gov 281 

Parson Cummings, anecdote of 499 

Pass of the James 176 

Peter Wright, the hunter 172 

Peaks of Otter 189 



Petersburg volunteers 145 

Pendleton, Edmund 215 

Philips, the tory 438 

Philips, Gen., death of 244 

Pocahontas basin 248 

" place where she rescued Capt.Smith 282 

Poes, the bravery of 414 

Point Pleasant, battle of 361 366 

" " song on 36G 

Powell's Fort Valley 426 

Point of Fork, invasion of 271 

Pleasants, Gov 283 

Preaching, the first in western Va 192 

Presbyterian clergyman, the first in America . . 293 

Princess Ann, skirmish in 438 

Prince William, military events in the vicinity. 442 



Quakers, persecution of. 



.151 354 



Randolph, John of Roanoke 223 440 

Edmund 313 

" Peyton 333 

" Macon College 378 

Reminiscences, revolutionary- 243 

River, the lost 300 

Richmond Theatre, the burning of 309 

" invasion of 305 

Roberdeau, Gen. D. 275 

Rice, Dr. J. H 434 

Rumsey, the first steamboat inventor 336 



.189 382 



Salt, fossil 

Scotch-Irish, settlements of ... - 

Scott, Gen. Charles 

" Major Joseph 

" Gen. Winfield 

Scenery of the valley of Va . . • . 
Settlements, early, in nw. Va. . . 

" " in sw. Va 

Simcoe, skirmishes of 217 271 290 306 

Shelfey , Daniel 

Spring, Augusta 

" Alum 

" Blue Sulphur 

" Bottetourt 

" Dagger's 

" Fauquier 

" Grayson 

" Holston 

" Hygeian 

" Howard 

" Jordan 

" Orkney 

" Red 

" Salt Sulphur 

" Shannondale 

" Sweet • 

" White Sulphur of Greenbrier 

Slavery and tobacco 

Slaughter, Capt 

Southampton insurrection 

Spotswood, Gov., visit to the family of 

Statistics of 1840 

Stephens, Gen 

Stevens, Gen. E 

Stockton, Isabella, romantic courtship of. 

Sufi'olk, burning of 

Superstition, anecdotes illustrating it at the 

present day 

Summers, Judge 

Stone structure, ancient, on Ware creek 



469 
451 

244 
242 
243 
456 
444 
499 
319 
179 
177 
450 
289 
448 
203 
262 
216 
464 
278 
430 
272 
467 
385 
384 
342 
384 
288 
133 
237 
471 
476 
160 
191 
240 
192 
387 

500 
347 
391 



Tarleton, Col 166 212 

Taylor, Col. John 215 

" Geo.Keith 440 

Tea-tHble, the 292 

Thruston, Col., the warrior parson 234 283 

Tories, the hanging of 358 

" insurrection of 301 

Trough-Hill, battle of 300 

Tyler, Judge 219 

" President 219 327 



INDEX. 



Page 

University of Virginia 165 

Uncle Jack, tlie negro preaclier 174 

Union Tlieological Seminary 434 

Upshur, Hon. A. p..... 405 

Van Bebbers, anecdotes of tlie • • • 366 

Virginia, general view of- 128 

" Governors 145 

" Military Institute 449 

Virginians in high official stations under the 

United States 146 

Virginians, Jones's descri ption of 330 

Waddel, James, the blind preacher 417 



Wash: 



ngton, marriage and courtship of 389 

his office at Soldier's Rest 233 

entry of as surveyor 237 

anecdotes of 241 543 

residence of at Mt. Vernon 257 

statue of 308 

modesty of 329 

mother of 483 

college 449 

farm -. 482 



Page 

Washington, likeness of at Harper's Ferry..- . 335 
" his recommendation of Volney .. 261 

" aged servant of- 184 

" fac-simile of his writing 509 

" " of the entry of liis birth 509 

" birthplace of 507 

" Lord Brougham's sketch of the 

character of 508 

" Judge Bushrod 513 

" Col. William 484 

Weyer's Cave 183 

Weddings of early settlers 193 

Westover, the seat of Col. B jTd 217 

Weems, Parson 255 256 

Wetzel, Lewis 413 

Weedon, Gen 480 

Wirt, William 171 

William and Mary College 324 

Witchcraft, trial for 436 

Woodford, Gen. Wm 215 

Wolf-pits, construction of 206 

Wythe, George 352 

Zane, Elizabeth, heroism of. • 411 



OUTLINE 
HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION, PROGRESS OP COMMERCE, ROANOKE SETTLEMENTS. 

Discovery of America. — England. — Want of Commerce in early times. — Voyages of 
the Cabots. — Progress of English discovery — Frobisher — Gilbert — Raleigh. — Fail- 
ure of the Roanoke settlements^ 

The claims of the Icelanders, the Welsh, and even the Norwe- 
gians,* to the discovery of America, seem in modern times to be 
universally set aside in favor of a native of a milder clime. In- 
deed, the evidence by which their respective claims were sought to 
be established was so vague, contradictory, and unsatisfactory,! 
and their discoveries, if proved, so entirely accidental, and useless 
to mankind, that it is not at all astonishing that all the merit 
should be given to that individual whose brilliant genius first de- 
monstrated a priori the existence of a continent in the western 
waters, and whose adventurous daringj led him to risk his life in 
the search of a world, of the existence of which he was only in- 
formed by his science, with little aid of any human experience ; 
or that posterity should give to Columbus the undivided glory of an 
exploit for which he received only the ignominy of his contempo- 
raries, and to Italy the honor due the birthplace of so distinguish- 
ed a son, from whose brilliant achievements she has received little 
else. 

In 1460, the Portuguese discovered the Cape de Verd islands, 
and afterwards extended their discoveries farther south. This near 
prospect of an easier and more direct route to India, had already 
begun to excite the jealousy of the Venetians, who then nearly 
monopolized the trade of India, and to elevate the hopes of the 
Portuguese, who expected to enjoy a portion of the wealth and 
luxury which the Venetians derived from that trade ; when the 
minds of both, and indeed of all Europe, were turned in another 

* Winterbotham's America, vol. I. p. 1 and 2, and Hinton's United States. 

t Bancroft's Hist. U. States, vol. I. p. 6, and notes. 

X " L'ltalie reparut, avec les divins tresors que les Grecs fugitifs rapport^rent dans 
son sein; le ciel lui i6ve\a. ses lois ; Vaudace de ses enfants decouvrit un nouvel hernia- 
phere." — De Stael — Coriime. 



12 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

direction by the occurrence of an event in the history of maritime, 
discovery, compared with which all others sunk into insignifi- 
cance. 

This event was the discovery of America, by Christopher Colum- 
Ot 11 1409 ^^^' The education of this daring mariner, his dis- 
' * appointments and dangers, his difficulties and his 

brilliant success, or the melancholy story of his sad reverses, and 
the example afforded in him of the ingratitude of kings, it is not 
the purpose of the writer to narrate. He refrains from recounting 
so temptingly interesting a narrative, because it would lead him 
too far from his purpose, which is only to narrate succinctly the 
progress of navigation and discovery to the time of the first colo- 
ny settled in Virginia, — and because the same story has been so 
well told by Robertson, Irving, and others, that it ought to be fa- 
miliar to all. 

Notwithstanding the advances in navigation which have been 
enumerated, the art of ship-building was still in such a rude and 
imperfect state, that the vessels in which Columbus embarked on 
an unknown sea, a modern mariner, with all the advantages of 
modern science, would scarcely venture in, to cross the Atlantic. 
The largest was a vessel of no considerable burden,* and the two 
others scarcely superior in burden to large boats, and the united 
crews of the three only amounted to ninety men, including officers, 
and a few gentlemen, adventurers from Isabella's court. 

But notwithstanding these inadequate means for the prosecution 
of maritime discovery, the ardor of enterprise was so much ex- 
cited by the brilliant achievements of Columbus, the greedy thirst 
for gain, and hope of finding some country abounding in gold, to- 
gether with the eager desire which still prevailed of discovering 
some passage through the great continent of America, which might 
lead to India, that in twenty-six years from the first discovery of 
land by Columbus, the Spaniards had visited all of the islands of 
the West Indies — they had sailed on the eastern coast of America 
from the Rio de la Plata to the western extremity of the Mexican 
Gulf — they had discovered the great Southern Ocean, and had ac- 
quired considerable knowledge of the coast of Florida. It is also 
said that these voyages in search of a nearer passage to the East 
Indies, had extended much farther north, but not however until 
that country had been discovered by the seamen of another na- 
tion, of whose exploits in the field of maritime adventure we shall 
presently speak. 

The great interior was still unknown, the whole western and 
the extreme southeastern coasts were still undiscovered, and the 
long line of coast from Florida to Labrador had only been seen, 
and touched upon in a few places. 

England did not at an early period make those advances in nav- 
igation, to which the eminent advantages of her insular situation" 

* Robertson — Hist. America, 49. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 13 

invited, and gave no promise of that maritime distinction, and 
commercial w^ealth, to v^^hich the wise policy of her subsequent 
rulers have led her to attain. From the times of the conquest to 
the discovery of America, England had been engaged in perpetual 
wars, either foreign or domestic ; and thus, while the southern por- 
tion of Europe and the free cities on the Rhine were advancing so 
rapidly in opulence and power, England was destitute of even the 
germ of that naval strength to which she is so much indebted for 
her present greatness. Every article of foreign growth or fabric 
which she consumed, was wafted to her shores in the barks of 
other nations, and the subsequent mistress of the seas scarcely 
dared to float her flag beyond the limits of her own narrow juris- 
diction. Scarcely an English ship traded with Spain or Portugal 
before the beginning of the fifteenth century, and it required an- 
other half century to give the British mariner . courage enough to 
venture to the east of the Pillars of Hercules.* 

Feeble as the marine of England then was, her reigning monarch, 
Henry VII., did not lack the spirit required for undertaking great 
enterprises, and accident only deprived him of the glory of being 
the patron of the discoverer of America. Columbus, after the 
failure of his own native country of Genoa to encourage his great 
enterprise, and his second rebuff from his adopted country, Portu- 
gal, fearing another refusal from the king of Castile, to whose 
court he then directed his steps, dispatched his brother Bartholo- 
mew to England to solicit the aid of Henry VIL, who being then at 
peace, was supposed to have leisure to undertake a great enter- 
prise which promised such renown to himself and emolument to 
England. Bartholomew was captured by pirates on his voyage, 
and robbed of all his effects, which, with an illness that followed, 
prevented him from presenting himself at court, after he arrived 
in England, until he could provide himself with suitable apparel 

Feb IS 1488 + ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ drawing maps and sea-charts. He 
' ■ ' brought himself to the notice of Henry by present- 

ing him with a map, and upon his representing to him the propo- 
sal of Columbus, he accepted it with " a joyful countenance, and 
bade him fetch his brother." So much delay had been produced 
by the circumstances mentioned, that Bartholomew, hastening to 
Castile, learned at Paris, from Charles, king of France, that his 
brother Christopher's efforts had already been crowned with the 
most brilliant success. 

When we reflect upon the difficulties which were thrown in the 
way of Columbus at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella, even 
after they became convinced of the practicability of his scheme, 

* Robertson's Virginia, p. 18, 19. 

t This date is preserved in some curious verses upon the map, of which we give a spe- 
cimen : " Bartholmew Colon de Terra Rubra." " The yeere of Grace, a thousand and 
four hundred and fourscore" "And eight, and on the thirteenth day of February more," 
" In London published this worke. To Christ all laud therefore." Hacklyt, vol. Ill 
p. 22. 



14 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

and the yet more arduous difficulties which he encountered on his 
voyage, from the mutinous timidity of his crew, we may well doubt 
whether Henry's courage would have sustained him in the actual 
accomplishment of the enterprise, or whether England at that 
time afforded mariners sufficiently hardy to have persevered a suf- 
ficient length of time in a seemingly endless voyage upon an un- 
known sea. 

Fortunately, perhaps, for mankind, the courage of England was 
T 91 1 a.Q7 ^^^ P^^ ^^ ^^® *^^^ ^^ making the first great adven- 
June ^ ' • ture ; and whether she would have succeeded in 

that or not, she was not destitute of sufficient courage to under- 
take an enterprise of very considerable magnitude at that day, 
soon after the existence of land in our western hemisphere had 
been discovered. 

The merit of this new enterprise is also due to a native of Italy, 
and his motive was the same which prevailed in most of the ad- 
ventures of the time, — the desire to discover a new route to India. 

Giovanni Gaboto, better known by his anglicised name of John 
Cabot, a Venetian merchant who had settled at Bristol, obtained 
from Henry a charter for himself and his three sons, Lewis, Sebas- 
tian, and Santius, allowing them full power and authority to sail 
into all places in the eastern, western, or northern sea, under the 
banners of England, with five ships, at their own proper costs and 
charges, to discover countries before unknown to Christians, to 
plant the banners of England in all such places, and to take pos- 
session of them, to hold as vassals of England, to have the exclu- 
sive monopoly of the trade of all such places, paying to the king 
one-fifth of the clear profits of every voyage. All other persons 
were prohibited from visiting such places, and the Cabots were 
bound always to land on their return only at Bristol. 

Under this patent, containing "the worst features of colonial 
monopoly and commercial restriction," John Cabot, and his cele- 
brated son Sebastian, embarked for the west. The object of Cabot 
being to discover the passage to India, he pursued a course more 
northwardly than any selected by previous navigators, and the 
first land he reached was the coast of Newfoundland, which on 
that account he named Prima Vista; next the Island of St. John; 
and finally the continent, among the "polar bears, the rude sav- 
ages and dismal cliffs of Labrador ;" and this seems to have been 
the only fruit of the first British voyage to America. 

In the following year a new patent was given to John Cabot, 
„, ^AQR and the enterprise was conducted by his adventurous 
'^ ' * and distinguished son, Sebastian. In this expedition, 

which was undertaken for the purposes of trade as well as dis- 
covery, several merchants of London took part, and even the king 
himself. Cabot sailed in a northwest course, in hopes of finding a 
northwest passage to India, as far probably as the 58th or 60th 
degree of latitude, until he was stopped by the quantities of ice 
which he encountered, and the extreme severity of the weather; 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 15 

he then turned his course southward and followed the coast, ac- 
cording to some writers to the coast of Virginia, and in the opinion 
of some, as far as the coast of Florida. The only commodities 
with which he returned to England, as far as our accounts inform 
us, were three of the natives of the newly discovered countries. 
He found, upon his return, the king immersed in his preparations 
for a war with Scotland, which prevented his engaging in any 
further prosecution of his discoveries, or entertaining any design 
of settlement. 

It is not our purpose to notice the Portuguese discoveries under 
Cotereal, the French under Verrazzani and Cartier, or their abor- 
tive attempt at settlements in Canada and New England. Nor 
shall we notice the extensive inland expedition of the Spaniards 
under Soto from Florida, through the states of Georgia, Alabama, 
Mississippi, across the Mississippi, and into Louisiana, — or the at- 
tempts of the French at settlement in Florida and the Carolinas, — 
these matters belong rather to the history of the United States, 
than to the sketch of the history of Virginia which we propose to 
give. We pass at once to the British attempts at colonization in 
America. 

The progress of maritime adventure extended rapidly. The 
evidence exists of several English voyages having been made not 
only to the coast of North America, but the Levant, the harbors 
, _ ,gj of northern Africa and Brazil. The visits to the fisheries 

of Newfoundland had become frequent ; and the commerce 
from that source had become of such importance, and had been 
the subject of such long and oppressive exactions, as to require 
the action of parliament for their prohibition. 

India was still the great object with the merchants, and the dis- 
, -_^ covery of a nearer passage than that offered by the Cape 

of Good Hope, the great desideratum with mariners. The 
northwestern passage had been attempted thrice by the Cabots in 
vain ; a northeastern expedition was fitted out, and sailed under 
the command of Willoughby and Chancellor. Willoughby with 
his ship's company were found in their vessel frozen to death in a 
Lapland harbor ; Chancellor with his vessel entered the port of 
IKK A Archangel, and "discovered" the vast empire of Russia, till 

then unknown to Western Europe. This discovery led to 
the h-^ne of establishing an intercourse by means of caravans 
1568 ^^^o^s *h® continent to Persia, and thence to the distant 

empire of Cathay. 
Elizabeth afibrded every encouragement to the maritime enter- 
prises of her subjects, and especially encouraged the newly estab- 
j f.„„ lished intercourse with Russia. The hope of discovering a 

northwest passage was by no means as yet relinquished. 
Martin Frobisher, after revolving in his mind the subject for fif- 
teen years, believed that it might be accomplished, and " deter- 
mined and resolved within himself to go and make full proof there- 
of," "knowing this to be the only thing in the world that was left 



16 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

yet undone, whereby a notable mind might be made famous and 
fortunate." Frobisher was too poor to supply himself with the 
means of carrying his designs into execution ; but after much solici- 
tation at court he was patronised by Dudley, Earl of Warwick, 
who supplied him with two small barks, the one of twenty and 
the other of twenty-five tons burden, and a pinnace of ten tons. 
With this little fleet he set sail. The expedition was entirely unfor- 
tunate. One of his barks deserted and returned home, the pinnace 
went down in a storm, " whereby he lost only four men :" with such 
small vessels and crews did the hardy mariners of that day ven- 
ture to cross the Atlantic. The Admiral's mast was sprung, and 
the top-mast blown overboard, by the same storm in which he lost 
the pinnace ; but, nothing daunted, he persevered, and entered Hud- 
son's Bay. The only thing accomplished by the voyage was the 
taking possession of the cold and barren wilderness in the name 
of Elizabeth, carrying home some of the gravel and stones, one 
of the latter of which, resembling gold, or probably having some 
gold artificially mingled with it after it reached London, caused 
the gold refiners nearly to go mad, and the merchants to under- 
take one of the wildest expeditions recorded in the annals of dis- 
covery ; besides this show of gold, which was pronounced very 
rich for the quantity, the only other acquisition was a poor native, 
whose simplicity was imposed upon by the most treacherous de- 
vices, until he was decoyed to the English vessel, and then seized 
by force, and carried away from his friends. He bit off his tongue 
from despair, and died soon after his arrival in England, from cold 
taken on the voyage. 

The mania which the story of the little bit of gold produced in 

, -„„ London caused a fleet of several vessels to be fitted out, of 

' which the queen herself furnished one, to bring home the 

rich produce of these icy mines. The ships returned with black 

earth, but no gold. 

The spirit of avarice was not to be stopped in her career by a 
, -Kyr, single failure ; a new fleet of fifteen vessels was fitted out, 
* and to Martin Frobisher was given the command. A colony 
was to be planted for the purpose of working the mines, while 
twelve vessels were to be sent home with ore. After almost in- 
credible difficulties, encountered amid storms and " mountains of 
floating ice on every side," the loss of some vessels, and the deser- 
tion of others, they reached the northern Potosi, and the ships were 
well laden with the black earth ; but the colonists, being disheartened 
by their hardships, declined settling on the coast, and all returned 
to England. We are not informed of the value of the proceeds of 
the cargo. 

While the British queen and her merchants were indulging 
themselves in fancies as brilliant and as evanescent as the icebergs 
which encumbered the scene of the delusion. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, 
a man of insuperable energy and fearless enterprise, formed a design 
of promoting the fisheries, and engaging in useful colonization. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 17 

With this view he obtained a patent of the same character with 
y ^„ most of those which were granted to the early pro- 

June 11, lo7 •jjjQ^gj.s Qf colonization in America, conferring un- 
bounded privileges upon the proprietor, and guarantying no 
rights to the colonists. The first expedition, in which Gilbert had 
, _„Q expended much of his private fortune, failed, — from what 
* cause is uncertain. 

The second expedition, undertaken four years afterwards, was 
, _j,o still more unfortunate ; for it lost to the world the gallant 
and accomplished projector of the expedition. Five vessels 
sailed from Plymouth on Tuesday, the 11th of June, 1583. Two 
days afterward, the vice-admiral complained of sickness aboard, 
and returned with the finest ship in the fleet to Plymouth. The 
admiral, nevertheless, continued his course with his little squadron, 
and took possession, with the feudal ceremony, of Newfoundland, 
to be held by him as a fief of the crown of England, in accordance 
with the terms of his charter. 

The looseness of morals displayed by the mariners of that day 
is truly disgusting, and increases our wonder at the daring of men 
who could venture so far from home, in such frail barks, with 
almost a certainty of encountering on the great highway, in their 
fellow-men, greater perils than were presented by all the terrors 
of the deep. Robbery by sea was too common, and often com- 
mitted in violation of the most sacred obligations, even upon per- 
sons engaged in the very act of relieving the distress of the depre- 
dators.* Gilbert seems to have been cursed with a remarkably 
riotous and insubordinate company. The sick and disaffected 
were left at Newfoundland to be sent home with the Swallow, and 
the admiral proceeded with his three remaining barks. 

On Tuesday the 20th of August they sailed from the harbor of 
St. Johns, and on the 29th, in about latitude 44 degrees, the largest 
remaining vessel, by the carelessness of the crew, struck, and went 
to pieces, and the other barks were forced by a high sea and a lee 
shore to struggle for their own preservation, which they accom- 
plished with difficulty, — alleging, at the same time, that they could 
see none of the crew of the wreck floating upon timbers, but all 
seemed to have gone down when the ship broke up. A few, how- 
ever, escaped to Newfoundland in the ship's pinnace, as was after- 
wards discovered. 

This calamity, followed by continual storms, in an unknown and 
shoaly sea, enhanced by an extreme scantiness of provisions, and 
want of clothes and comforts in the two little barks which yet 
A o, remained, induced the admiral, at the earnest solicita- 

"^' * tion of his men, to return homeward. Sir Humphrey 
Gilbert was vehemently persuaded by the crew of the Golden Hind 
to remain with them during the voyage ; but, as some malicious 
taunts had been thrown out by some evil-disposed person, accusing 
— ^ — , tk _ 

* See a remarkable instance in Hacklyt, vol. III., 191, 196, &o. 

3 

y 



18 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

him of being afraid of the sea, he chose to continue to sail in his 
little pinnace, the Squirrel, which was burdened beyond her 
strength. 

After the vessels had left the Azores to the south, and reached 
the latitude of England, they encountered violent and continued 
storms. On Monday, the 9th of September, the Squirrel was nearly 
cast away, but recovered, and the admiral was seen sitting abaft 
with a book in his hand, and heard to cry out to those in the Hind, 
" We are as near to heaven by sea as by land." That same night, 
at 12 o'clock, the Squirrel being in advance, her light suddenly 
disappeared, and her hardy crew, with their gallant commander, 
<^ „£, sleep forever in the deep. The Hind reached Falmouth 
^P * "in safety, but after encountering eminent peril to the last 
moment.* 

The daring spirit of the mariners of that day is amazing. Sir 
Walter Raleigh, the step-brother of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, so far 
from being intimidated by the melancholy fate of his relative, or 
disheartened by the unprofitable and disastrous termination of 
M >i 9Pi 1 P1S4 ™os^ of ^^^ vovages to America, undertook in the 
IVlarcn ^5, I5b4. ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ expedition to the coast of the 

present United States. He easily obtained one of the usual un- 
limited patents from Elizabeth, and, leaving the cold north, with 
its barren snows, its storms, icebergs, and certain evils, together 
wdth its imaginary wealth, he spread his sails for the sweet south, 
where he was sure to find a fertile soil and a delightful climate, 
though his ship's company might not all be enriched by the dis- 
covery of gold. 

On the second of July they found shoal water, " and smelt so 
sweet and strong a smell, as if they had been in the midst of 
some delicate garden abounding with all kinds of odoriferous 
flowers." 

On the 13th they entered Ocracock inlet, on the coast of the 
present state of North Carolina, and landed on Wocoken Island. 
They commenced an intercourse with the natives, who proved to 
be bold, confiding, intelligent, and honorable to their friends, but 
treacherous, revengeful, and cruel towards their enemies. 

The English explored a little the surrounding islands and bays, 
and returned home in September, carrying with them two natives, 
Manteo and Wanchese. The glowing description given by the 
adventurers, on their return, of the beauty of the country, the fer- 
tility of the soil, and pleasantness of the climate, delighted the 
queen, and induced her to name the country of which she had 
taken possession, Virginia, in commemoration of her unmarried 
life. 

It might be expected that so favorable an account would soon 
^ _ja_ lead to a new expedition. Accordingly, another was pre- 
* pared for the succeeding year, consisting of seven vessels. 
— _ . — . ^ — — 

* Hacklyt, III., 184 to 202. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 19 

Ralph Lane was appointed by Raleigh governor of the colony, 
which consisted of one hundred and eight persons. Sir Richard 
Grenville took command of the fleet, and several learned and 
accomplished men attended the expedition, one of whom has trans- 
mitted to posterity many interesting particulars of the nature of 
the country, and the habits, manners, and government of its in- 
habitants. 

The English soon began to maltreat the harmless, unpretending, 
T 1 111 586 ^^'^ simple natives, and they, on the other hand, to 
^ ' ■ grow jealous of the power of the overbearing 

strangers. They soon learned the inordinate passion of the new- 
comers for gold, and, taking advantage of their credulity, inflicted 
upon them the labor of many fruitless expeditions in search of 
pretended mines, — hoping at the same time, by these divisions, to 
weaken the power of the little colony to such a degree that they 
might be able to destroy it in detachment ; but the English were 
too cautious for this, and went too short a distance, and in force 
too powerful for the Indians to encounter with the great disparity 
of arms. The greatest advantage which accrued from these expe- 
ditions, and indeed from the whole attempt at a settlement, was 
the discovery of Chesapeake Bay. 

The little colony, finding no gold, and receiving no supplies from 
England, had begun to despond, when most unexpectedly Sir 
Francis Drake arrived, on his return from his expedition against 
the Spaniards in South America, with a fleet of three and twenty 
ships. The sagacity of Drake perceived in a moment what was 
necessary for the colony, and his generosity supplied them with 
provisions, vessels, and other things necessary to maintain their 
position, extend their researches, and, if necessary, to return to 
England ; but the accomplishment of his purpose was defeated by 
a violent storm which suddenly arose, and nearly wrecked his 
whole fleet, driving the vessel of provisions intended for the colony 
to sea, and destroying the vessels which had been set apart to be 
left for their use. He would have supplied others ; but the colony, 
J ,Q with their governor at their head, earnestly requesting 
■ permission to return to England, he complied with their 
wishes. Thus terminated the first English settlement in America. 

This little colony, during its sojourn with the Indians, had ac- 
quired something of their fondness for the use of tobacco, and 
learned to regard it with almost the same superstitious reverence, 
as a powerful medicinal agent. Upon theirTeturn, they introduced 
the use of this plant into England ; and a weed at first disgusting 
and nauseating to all who use it, has become gradually the favor- 
ite luxury (and indeed with many a necessary of life) of all classes 
of society, and of both the young and the old throughout the world, 
— and this, after experience has proved that in most cases it is an 
injury rather than a benefit to the health. 

A few days after Lane's departure, an English vessel arrived on 
the coast with every necessary for the colony, but finding it de- 



20 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

serted, returned home. Sir Richard Grenville arrived soon after 
with three ships, well furnished with stores for the colony ; but not 
finding it, he also returned, leaving fifteen men on Roanoke Island, 
to keep possession in the name of Great Britain. 

The genius of Sir Walter Raleigh was not of a nature to suc- 
,_£,„ cumb to slight failures, or ordinary difficulties. The suc- 
ceeding year another colony was dispatched to settle in 
Virginia ; and that they might consider their settlement perma- 
nent, and Virginia their home, many persons with wives and fami-, 
lies were sent. 

J ^ A charter of incorporation was granted for a town, to be 
called the City of Raleigh, a name revived in after times 
in the present metropolis of North Carolina. John White was 
appointed governor, and, with eleven assistants, constituted the 
administration for the control of the colony. Ample provision was 
made by the noble and liberal proprietor for the comfort of the 
colonists, and a plentiful stock of instruments of husbandry pro- 
vided, to enable them to supply their own future wants, and estab- 
lish themselves on the only footing which could possibly be expected 
to be permanent. 

. ., 2f» The company embarked in April, and arrived in July 
" * at the place where they expected to find the fifteen un- 

fortunate men whom Grenville had left. But their grounds were 
grown up in weeds, their tenantless dwellings had become the 
abode of the wild animals of the forest, and their scattered bones, 
blanching in the sun, were the last sad memorials which told their 
fate to their anxious countrymen. Whether they fell by civil dis- 
sensions among themselves, by famine or disease, or were yet more 
miserably cut off" by the overpowering numbers of a savage host, 
taking advantage of their desolate situation, (deprived of sympa- 
thy, and destitute of the hope of succor,) is one of the mysteries 
of history which the ken of man may not unravel. 

The sagacity of Raleigh had directed the new settlement to be 
made on the shores of the magnificent Chesapeake, and there was 
the new city to be built ; but the naval officer, preferring trade 
T 1 9^ with the West Indies to exploring the coast, left White on 

^ * Roanoke Island, and compelled him to establish himself 
there. 

The colony soon became involved in difficulties with the natives, 
J , no partly from accident, and partly from the previously en- 
^ ' gendered hostility of some of the tribes. Indeed, it would 
seem impossible a priori, (even if we had not, unfortunately, too 
much experience of the fact,) that two nations of such different 
degrees of civilization, manners, and habits, with such different 
designs, could long remain together in peace, harmony, and on the 
footing of equals. It would seem to be the nature of man that the 
ignorant tribe should be jealous, treacherous, and vindictive, — that 
the more civilized should be greedy, rapacious, and overbearing. 
And when a spirit of suspicion is once excited, the imprudence of 




CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH. 
From a portrait showing him in the fashionable dress of the period in which he lived. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 21 

a single individual too often involves in a quarrel all of the citizens 
of the little communities : nothing is extenuated, and nothing is 
attributed to accident ; but suspicion in the injured party supplies 
the place of malice in the aggressor. These difficulties made the 
colonists feel more anxiously their dependence upon England, and 
forced upon them a melancholy foreboding, that without frequent 
and effectual assistance from the mother country, they could not 
long sustain themselves in a strange and distant land, the natives 
of which had become bitterly hostile. Under this impression, 
when their last ship was about to depart from England, they forced 
their reluctant governor, by excessive importunity, to desert his 
charge, in order that he might lend his personal aid and influence 
» n„ in sending them succor from home. He sailed with the 

^' * ship, but not until after his daughter, Eleanor Dare, the 
wife of one of the assistant governors, had presented him with the 
. ,g. first white child born on the continent of North America. 

°' ' This child was christened Virginia Dare, and, with her 
mother, was esteemed a sufficient pledge of the exertions of the 
governor in aid of the colony, and of his speedy return. 

White found all England engaged in anxious preparation to 
, _g>n meet the threatened Spanish invasion, but this did not pre- 
vent the generous Raleigh from dispatching him with two 
ships of supplies for the relief of the colony. But the spirit of 
gain overcame the spirit of humanity, and even the tender ties of 
A -1 99 parental afi^ection : instead of going at once to the colo- 

" ' ny, he employed himself in taking Spanish prizes, and 

was at last himself overcome and rifled, which compelled him to 
return to England, much to the chagrin of the noble proprietor, 
and probably the destruction of the neglected colony. 

The Invincible Armada of Spain had to be overcome, and the 
safety of England herself to be secured, before another effort 
could be made to succor the little colony at Roanoke ; and when 
this was accomplished, leisure found the noble patron of the en- 
terprise too much impoverished by his previous unprofitable exer- 
tions to fit out, at his own expense, another expedition. He was 
obliged to assign an extensive portion of his powers to a company 
of merchants and others who might carry his schemes into execu- 
tion ; but with his profuse liberality, the active spring which had 
quickened previous expeditions was gone, the spirit of gain rather 
than of glory presided over the destinies of infant America, and it 
1 'iQn ^^^ ^^^ until another year had elapsed, that White was 
sent in quest of his subjects and his daughter. 

When he arrived the colony was gone ; an inscription on the 
bark of a tree, indicating Croatan as the place whither they had 
gone, was the last record of their existence seen by a civilized eye. 
Conjecture has pointed to an amalgamation with the tribe of Hat- 
teras Indians as the history of their destiny, and old Indian tradi- 
tions and the physical characteristics of that tribe are said 
to confirm the idea ; but while humanity may indulge a hope, 



22 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

credulity itself must entertain a doubt of the truth of the hy- 
pothesis. . 

White returned to England as soon as he found out that the 
colony was gone, and Raleigh is said to have sent five several 
times in vain, to search for his liege-men, but no tidings were ever 
received of their existence or their fate. Thus terminated the 
attempts at settlement on the coast of North Carolina, then called 
Virginia ; the scene next opens upon the broad bosom of the 
" mother of the waters."* 



CHAPTER II. 

SETTLEMENT AT JAMESTOWN SUFFERINGS OF THE COLONISTS ADVEN- 
TURES OP SMITH. 

New Company raised — its charter. — Jamestown. — Machinations against Smith. — Dif- 
ficulties of the colony. — Stnitk taken prisoner — his release. — Arrival of Newport. — 
Discovery of earth believed to be gold. — Departure of Newport. — Survey of the Chesa- 
peake and itswaters by Smith. — Smith made president. — Second arrival of Newport. — 
Judicious conduct of Smith. — New charter. — New arrival of etnigrants. — Badness of 
the selection. — New settlements. — Accident to Smith — his departure — his character. 

We have now approached the period in which the British were 
destined to make a permanent settlement in America. England 
already possessed a population considered redundant, in conse- 
quence of the inadequate means of support afforded by her limited 
commerce and inefficient agriculture. The pacific and timid 
character of James I. threw out of employment many of the brave 
spirits who had served under Elizabeth, and left them the choice 
of only two means of acquiring wealth or distinction, — and these 
were either to draw a mercenary sword in the quarrels of stran- 
gers, or to serve their king and country by transplanting their 
energy and enterprise to a new world. 

Bartholomew Gosnold chose the latter. He was a person of 
rank and intelligence, and had already acquired distinction by his 
courage and skill in arms. He solicited his friends for aid for 
many years in vain, but at length attracted the attention of the 
distinguished adventurer Capt. John Smith, Edward Maria Wing- 
field, a merchant, and Robert Hunt, a clergyman, who, after tak- 
ing a year for reflection, entered zealously into his projects. 

Nothing, however, could be eifected until persons of wealth and 
distinction could be found to patronise by their favor and aid by 

* This is the translation usually given of the Indian name " Chesapeake," but Chilly 
Mcintosh, the celebrated Georgia Creek chief, now removed west of the Mississippi, 
with his tribe, told the writer another meaning, which he said was the true one, but 
which the writer has forgotten ; but which was, however, not so unlike the one given 
above but that the same word might well convey the two diiFerent impressions, in dif- 
rent idioms of the same language. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 23 

their capital the enthusiasm of the adventurers. Sir Ferdinand 
Gorges, a man of wealth, rank, and influence, had been informing 
himself, by conversation with several American Indians who had 
been carried to England by previous voyages, and by every other 
means in his power, of the nature of the country ; and from the 
information he obtained became exceedingly anxious to possess a 
domain on the western side of the Atlantic. He persuaded Sir 
John Popham, lord chief-justice of England, to unite in his views. 
Richard Hacklyt, the distinguished compiler of narratives of mari- 
time adventures, and one of the assignees of Raleigh, had not yet 
relinquished his hopes of a permanent settlement in America, not- 
withstanding the frequent previous discouraging failures, and 
cheerfully joined in this new scheme of American colonization. 
The exertions of these energetic and distinguished individuals 
speedily raised a company, and procured a charter from King 
James. 

As this was the first charter under which a permanent settlement was made, it may 
be worth attention to notice some of its prominent features. The charter bears date on 
the tenth of April, sixteen hundred and six.* It grants all the country from four-and- 
thirty to five-and-forty degrees of north latitude, and all islands within one hundred 
miles of the coast. This immense extent of country was divided by the charter between 
two companies, for the more speedy accomplishment of their purpose, — which have been 
ever since designated as the London and the Plymouth companies. The London com- 
pany wished to establish a colony between the 34th and 41st degrees of latitude, and 
the Plymouth between the 38th and 45th, and the grants were made in conformity to 
their wishes. Bat as there was room for collision between the 38th and 41st degrees of 
latitude, the colony which first settled was to possess the land for fifty miles north and 
south of its location, and the other colony was forbidden to settle within one hundred 
miles of the colony first planted. Each of the colonies was to be governed by a council 
of thirteent persons, under the management and direction of a council of thirteen in 
England, which was to regulate both colonies. The council in the colonies were to 
govern according to laws, ordinances, and instructions prescribed by the king himself. 
The colonies had full power given to search for and work mines, paying to the king a 
fifth part of the gold and silver obtained, and a fifteenth of the copper ; and they were 
further allowed to coin money to pass current in the colonies. They were also empow- 
ered to levy a duty of two and a half per cent, upon the property of the king's subjects 
trading within their Hmits, and five per cent, upon all others so trading, for the use of the 
colony for twenty-one years, and afterwards for the use of the king. 

Certain articles of necessity were allowed to be carried to the colonies from any part 
of the king's dominions free of duty for the first seven years ; and the colonists and 
their descendants were to have forever the privileges, franchises, and immunities of 
native-born Englishmen. 

The English council was to have power to name the persons who were to compose 
the colonial council, and the latter elected their own president, and supplied vacancies 
in their own body. The religion of the church of England was established ; lands were 
to descend as at common law ; manslaughter, adultery, and dangerous tumults and 
seditions, were to be punished with death. The president and council constituted the 
supreme tribunal in all cases. The property of the colonists was to continue in joint 
stock for five years. 

One hundred and nine years from the discovery of the North 

T) 1 Q 1 fiOfi American continent by Cabot, three small vessels, 

' ' whose joint tonnage amounted to only one hundred 

* See this charter preserved in Stith, — Henning's Stat, at Large, p. 60, and in T. 
Rynier. 

t It appears afterwards that only seven were appointed j no reason is assigned for 
the change. 



24 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

and sixty tons burden, sailed for the coast of Virginia with a 
colony of one hundred and five men. They were detained for six 
weeks in sight of England by adverse winds. The voyage was 
prosecuted under the command of Captain Newport, who sailed 
by the old route of the Canaries and the West India islands ; thus 
consuming the valuable time and provisions of the colonists, in a 
voyage unnecessarily long and circuitous. He did not arrive in 
the Chesapeake until the 26th of April. 

Dissensions had sprung up in the course of the voyage, which 
there was no competent authority to quell, as the absurd affecta- 
tion of diplomatic mystery on the part of King James had sealed 
up his instructions, and the names of those vvho were to constitute 
the council, in a box which was not to be opened until after they 
arrived in Virginia. 

The southern cape of the Chesapeake received the name of 
Henry, and the northern that of Charles, after the names of the 
sons of James. After landing on Cape Henry, the box of instruc- 
tions was opened, and Smith* was found to be named as one of 
the council, but he was excluded by the jealous malignity of the 
rest. Wingfield was chosen president. 

Soon after passing the capes, they reached the mouth of a large 
and beautiful river, which they named after their sovereign James, 
but which the natives called Powhatan. About fifty miles from 
the mouth of this river, they selected a spot for their settlement, 
lyr 1 q to which they gave the name of James Town. There 
^ ' could not, perhaps, be a company more unfitted for the 
duty which it had to perform, than that which now commenced 
the foundation of the British empire in America. The colonists 
were in a wilderness, surrounded by savages, without a fortifica- 
tion to repel their incursions, possessed of a scanty supply of pro- 
visions, without means of planting, — and without a habitation to 
protect them from the weather, save such as they might them- 
selves erect ; yet in the whole company there were hut four car- 
penters, and twelve laborers, to fifty-four gentlemen. At first, how- 
ever, this rare collection of pioneers fell to work with spirit, each 
to his appropriate duty. The president, who seems to have been 
a very weak man, and ill-suited for his station, was too jealous of 
his own men to allow exercises at arms, or a fortification to be 
erected ; and the only protection provided, was a sort of half- 
moon formed of the boughs of trees, by the exertions of Kendall. 
Newport, Smith, and twenty others were sent to discover the head 
of the river. In six days they arrived at a town called Powhatan, 
belonging to King Powhatan, situated at the falls of the river, 
near the site of the present city of Richmond. They were kindly 
treated by the Indians. When the expedition returned, they found 
that Jamestown had been attacked by the savages, and seventeen 

* The council named, was Bart. Gosnold, John Smith, Edward Wingfield, Christo- 
pher Newport, John Ratcliffe, John Martin, and George Kendall. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 25 

men wounded, and a boy killed. They were attacked while at 
work, and their arms out of order ; so that the whole were only 
saved from destruction by the timely aid of the vessels. After this 
experience of his folly, the president permitted the place to be 
fortified ; and the labor necessary to effect this, with so small a 
force, while it was necessary, at the same time, to guard their 
workmen by day, to watch by night, to prepare ground for corn, 
and lumber to relade the ships, may be better conceived than de- 
scribed. After a stay of six weeks, Newport prepared to depart, 
and the council affecting a tender regard for the character of Smith, 
whom they had falsely accused of a treacherous design to usurp 
royal authority in the colony, and kept out of his seat in the council 
under these charges, now proposed, that he might not be utterly 
ruined by a trial, to send him home to the council, to be disposed of 
as they might think proper. But Smith, conscious of innocence of 
the absurd charge, boldly defied them, and demanded a trial. His 
accusers suborned witnesses, who, instead of answering the expec- 
tations of their employers, only exposed the subornation. The 
company were so incensed at the infamous conduct of his accu- 
sers, that they condemned the president to pay him £200, which, 
when received, he generously threw into the common stock. 
Newport sailed on the 15th of June, leaving one hundred men in 
Virginia. 

The condition of the men thus left, was the most melancholy that can well be im- 
agined. They consisted, for the most part, of men entirely unused to labor or hard- 
ship ; who were doomed to encounter every kind of difficulty, in the midst of summer, 
in a hot and sickly climate. In ten days from the departure of Newport, scarce ten 
men could stand, from sickness and weakness. The food was scanty in quantity, and 
of the most unwholesome quality. The allowance of each man was half a pint of 
wheat, and as much barley, boiled in water, which was served out from a common 
kettle, and which having been closely stowed in the ship's hold for twenty-six weeks, 
in a warm and moist atmosphere, was reduced to a condition any thing but tempting. 
Smith, the narrator of these sufferings, humorously remarks : " If we had been as free 
from all sins, as from gluttony and drunkenness, we might have been canonized for 
saints." As might be supposed in such an unfortunate state of affairs, great mortality 
prevailed, and fifty were buried between May and September ; and those that survived 
relied principally for their subsistence upon sturgeon and sea-crabs. The suffering, in 
this state of affairs, must have been greatly aggravated by the knowledge that the 
president was indulging himself in every luxury which the stores afforded — and his de- 
tection in an attempt to escape in the pinnace, from the suffering colony. This last 
act of treachery was more than the little colony could endure ; and weak as it was, it 
deposed him, and Kendall, his accomplice. Ratcliffe was made president. The coun- 
cil do not seem to have exercised the power granted them in their charter, of filling up 
vacancies, and it was now reduced to three — Ratcliffe, Smith, and Martin ; Gosn.old 
had perished, Newport sailed for England, and Wingjield and Kendall had been 
deposed. 

The president and Martin being unpopular men, and very defi- 
cient in judgment and energy, committed the control of affairs 
nearly entirely to Smith, who, by his example and his skill in 
managing men, speedily reduced affairs to order, induced the men 
to work, and provided comfortable habitations. His next object 
was to obtain a supply of corn for the immediate necessity of the 
people, which he did effectually, by frightening the people of 

4 



26 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

Kecoughtan, an Indian village, situated near the site of the present 
town of Hampton — after first trying every means to purchase 
their provision. Smith now constituted the only hope, not only for 
the existence of the colony, as such, but for the lives of the in- 
dividuals of whom it consisted. Their recent wretchedness was 
not a sufficient warning to them to preserve order, and to husband 
their resources with prudence, now that plenty was provided ; but 
they lived as wastefully as if they had boundless magazines at 
command. Smith, seeing this, caused the pinnace to be fitted up 
for a cruise ; and, in the mean time, availed himself of the oppor- 
tunity to become acquainted with the country lying on the 
Chickahominy. 

During one of these temporary absences of Smith, Wingfield 
and Kendall, who had lived in disgrace since they were deposed, 
laid a plot to carry off the pinnace to England, which the fortu- 
nate return of Smith, before they had time to effect their purpose, 
prevented. But not even then were they defeated without firing 
on the pinnace, by which means Kendall lost his life. 

Smith having gained possession of the pinnace, ascended the 
Chickahominy, and procured an abundance of corn. Winter com- 
ing on soon after, afforded an amply supply of game and wild fowl, 
so that plenty was once more restored, and thought no longer en- 
tertained of going to England. 

Little souls cannot look upon the greatest exploits of nobler 
creatures, without suffering a captious and jealous malignity to 
detract from their merit. The very beings whom Smith had pre- 
served by his good conduct, now murmured against him their 
absurd complaints — because he had not discovered the head of the 
Chickahominy, although he had returned only to supply them with 
food. His spirit could not brook reproach, however undeserved, 
for any thing w^hich was yet possible to be accomplished. He 
again ascended the Chickahominy as far as was practicable in the 
pinnace, and leaving it in a position which he supposed to be safe, 
he advanced yet higher, with two whites and two Indians, in a 
canoe. He left his men with his little boat, and taking only his 
Indian guide, advanced into the forest with his gun to procure 
them provision. Unfortunately, in disobedience to his orders, the 
men in the pinnace went ashore, and one of them was taken by 
the Indians, who learned from their prisoner whither the captain 
had gone. The savages pursued him, and slew the men left with 
the canoe while they slept. They next sought Smith, but found 
him no easy prey ; for, tying his guide to his arm as a buckler to 
keep off their arrows, he defended himself so gallantly that they 
dared not approach him, until, falling accidentally into a marsh, he 
was at length forced by cold and fatigue to surrender. The sav- 
ages conducted him to their chief, Opechankanough, king of 
Pamunkee. Smith endeavored to impress the king with a high 
idea of his powers, by presenting him with a mariner's compass, 
explaining its uses, and instructing him in the rudiments of astron- 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 27 

omy, by explaining the motion of the earth, its shape, and the 
motion of the sun, moon, and planets ; truths which it is difficult 
to believe he could make the savage comprehend, especially as he 
had but little knowledge of their language. It is more probable 
that the king was pleased with the ivory case of the compass, and 
the mysterious play of the needle, which he could see but not 
touch, and which moved without an apparent cause. Accord- 
ingly, we find when his men had tied Smith to a tree and were 
about to slay him, the king did not attempt to prevent it by 
explaining the motion of the earth around the sun, but merely held 
up the compass, the sight of which seems to have been sufficient 
to disarm their wrath. 

For six or seven weeks Smith was led about in triumph by 
these simple people, and exhibited to the tribes between the James 
and Potomac rivers, during the whole of which time he was in 
hourly apprehension of being put to death ; but was generally 
well treated, and provided with most of the luxuries which their 
simple state affi)rded. At length he was brought before their em- 
peror, Powhatan, who received him with all the formal pomp and 
state known to his savage court. A long consultation was held 
by the council there assembled, upon the disposition to be made 
of him, which terminated unfavorably. He was seized by a num- 
ber of the savages, and his head laid upon two great stones which 
had been brought there for the purpose. His executioners had 
already raised their clubs to dash out his brains, and thus at once 
end his toil and difficulties, and cut off the only hope of the colony, 
when an advocate appeared, as unexpected as would have been 
the appearance of an angel sent immediately from heaven to ask 
his release. This w^as Pocahontas, the emperor's favorite daugh- 
ter, who generously stepped forth and entreated, with tears, that 
Smith might be spared. And when she found this unavailing with 
the inexorable judges, she seized his head, and placed it under her 
own, to protect it from the blows. This sight so moved Powhatan, 
that he permitted Smith to live, intending to retain him to make 
trinkets and utensils for his family and himself. But a few days 
afterwards Powhatan told him they would be friends again, and 
sent him back to Jamestown, with an offer of a large district of 
country in exchange for two great guns and a grindstone ; but the 
party who were to carry these things found them so heavy, and 
were so much terrified by the effect of the guns, when discharged 
at a tree, that they were well satisfied to return without them, 
having received a few paltry baubles and trinkets. Smith's return 
again prevented a party from running off with the pinnace ; which 
so incensed them that they laid a plot to slay him, by a mock trial 
for the death of the two men he had left in the canoe, and who 
were slain by the savages ; but he was too prompt for the conspir- 
ators, whom he seized and kept close prisoners until he had 
an opportunity of sending them to England for trial. The 
colony was now only preserved from perishing by the kind- 



28 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

ness of Pocahontas, who brought ample supplies every four or 
five days. 

During this time the little colony had not been forgotten by the company in England, 
but Newport, soon after his return, was again dispatched, in company with another ves- 
sel, commanded by Francis Nelson, furnished with all things which could be imagined 
necessary either for the crews or the colonists. Nelson, when in sight of Cape Henry, 
was driven by a storm so far to sea, that he was obliged to land in the West Indies 
to refit and renew his supply of water. Newport arrived without an accident. Before 
the arrival of this supply. Smith had established a regular intercourse with the savages, 
and bought their provisions at moderate prices, which the high estimation in which he 
was held by them, and the awe which his name inspired, enabled him to fix for himself. 
But now the poor colonists were so grateful to the mariners who had come to their re- 
lief, that they were permitted to trade at such prices as they thought proper, by which 
means, it followed, in a short time, that a pound of copper would not purchase what had 
before sold for an ounce. Newport thought proper to pay a visit of ceremony to Pow- 
hatan, who received the party with great dignity and state. During this visit, a 
contest of wits took place between the two parties, in which Powhatan evinced infinitely 
greater diplomatic skill than Captain Newport ; and by working upon his pride, was 
very near consummating a highly advantageous bargain ; but he in his turn was out- 
witted by the ingenuity of Smith, who, having passed many baubles before his eyes, 
and finding that his attention was attracted by some blue beads, affected to value them 
exceedingly, and intimated that they were not to be worn except by the greatest per- 
sonages. This inflamed the desire of the emperor to such an extent, that he cheerfully 
gave several hundred bushels of corn for a pound or two of these rare jewels, whose 
beautiful color resembled the pure ether of heaven. The same stratagem was afterwards 
played off" by Smith, with equal success, upon Opechankanough, king of Pamunkee. 

Unfortunately, when Smith and Newport returned to Jamestown with this new sup- 
ply, and added it to their former store, it took fire and the greater part was consumed, 
together with many of their dry-thatched dwellings, a portion of their palisade fortifica- 
tions, and some of their arms, bedding, and apparel. 

Instead of returning home with all possible expedition, Newport remained fourteen 
weeks in the colony, consuming the precious provisions which should have been applied 
to the support of the unfortunate individuals he was to leave behind him. Unfortu- 
nately, too, he had brought out some gold refiners in his ship, who having discovered 
a glittei'ing earth near Jamestown, thought it gold ; and all hands were diverted from 
their useful toil, for the purpose of lading his ship with this worthless article. To such 
an extent did this mania prevail, that Smith says, " there was no talk, no hope, no work, 
but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold." Newport, having completed his cargo, 
at length returned home. Soon after his departure, the Phoenix, the vessel of Nelson, 
which had been given up for lost, arrived, with all his men in safety, and a good stock 
of provisions ; which he freely and fairly gave to the colonists to the extent of his 
ability. The next subject for consideration was the return cargo ; to obtain which, 
the president wished Smith to examine the commodities to be found in the country above 
the falls ; others wished the lading to be of the same gold with which Newport was 
freighted ; but Smith, more prudent than either, succeeded in loading the Phoenix 
with cedar, which was the first available cargo sent from Virginia to England. 

Smith accompanied the Phosnix, as far as Cape Henry, in a 
T 9 IfiOS •'^"^^^^ open barge with fourteen men, with which 
' * equipment he proposed to accomplish his long cher- 

ished object of exploring the Chesapeake and its tributary waters. 
It is not our purpose to follow him through his two wonderful 
voyages, undertaken for this purpose, but we will merely present 
an outline of his course from the pen of an able modern author,* 
from whom we have before quoted. " Two voyages, made in an 
open boat, with a few companions, over whom his superior cour- 
age, rather than his station as a magistrate, gave him authority, 

• Bancroft, Hist. U. States, vol I. p. 149 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 29 

occupied him about three months of the summer, and embraced a 
navigation of nearly three thousand miles. The slenderness of 
his means has been contrasted with the dignity and utility of his 
discoveries, and his name has been placed in the highest rank with 
the distinguished men who have enlarged the bounds of geograph- 
ical knowledge, and opened the way by their investigations for 
colonies and commerce. He surveyed the bay of the Chesapeake 
to the Susquehannah, and left only the borders of that remote 
river to remain for some years longer the fabled dwelling-place 
of a giant progeny. The Patapsco w^as discovered and explored, 
and Smith probably entered the harbor of Baltimore. The majestic 
Potomac, which at its mouth is seven miles broad, especially in- 
vited curiosity ; and passing beyond the heights of Mount Vernon 
and the City of Washington, he ascended to the falls above George- 
town. Nor did he merely explore the river and inlets. He pen- 
etrated the territories, established friendly relations v^ath the 
native tribes, and laid the foundation for future beneficial inter- 
course. The map which he prepared and sent to the company in 
London is still extant, and delineates correctly the great outlines 
of nature. The expedition was worthy the romantic age of 
American history." The map is indeed astonishingly accurate. 
We cannot forbear adding the corroborating testimony of the dis- 
tinguished Robertson* upon this subject, which is also quoted and 
approved by Marshall. f "He brought with him an account of 
that large portion of the American continent now comprehended 
in the two provinces of Virginia and Maryland, so full and exact, 
that after the progress of information and research for a century 
and a half, his map exhibits no inaccurate view of both countries, 
and is the original upon which all subsequent descriptions have 
been formed." 

When Smith returned to Jamestown he found that little had 
o f 7 ififm ^^®^ done, and a whole summer, which was a season 
*" ^ ' ' * of plenty, was wasted in idleness by the folly and 

imbecility of the president, whose conduct was so outrageous that 
the company had been at last forced to depose and imprison him. 

Smith was now elected president, and his energetic conduct 

^ fin speedily brought affairs into good order, and repaired 
^ ' 'as far as possible the injuries occasioned by the mis- 
conduct of his predecessor. 

Soon after Smith's election Newport again arrived, with the 
preposterous order, supposed to have been procured by his own 
representations, not to return without a lump of gold, discovery 
of a passage to the south sea, or one of the lost company sent out 
by Sir Walter Raleigh. He also absurdly brought some costly 
articles for the royal household of Powhatan, which served only to 
inflate the pride, without conciliating the affection of that prince. 
Some Poles and Dutchmen were also brought for the purpose of 

* See Robertson's Hist, of Va. p. 71. 

t Marshall's Introduction to Life of Washington, p. 41. 



30 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

manufacturing pitch, tar, glass, ashes, &c., which would have been 
well enough if the colony had been in a condition always to defy 
famine, but which it was impossible to accomplish now, when 
every man's exertions w^ere necessary to procure a sufficiency of 
food. Notwithstanding Smith's remonstrances, Newport insisted 
upon his trip of discovery above the falls of James River, for the 
purpose of discovering a route to the south sea, although Powhatan 
had assured them that the story they had heard of there being a 
sea in that direction was utterly false. The party returned, as 
Smith had predicted, disuppointed and disheartened. Since this 
project had failed, Smith having first procured a supply of provisions, 
which Newport and the rest with all their vain boasting and their 
costly presents had failed to do, and knowing that it was as im- 
possible to find a lump of gold, or one of Raleigh's company, as it 
was to find the south sea on James River, set himself to work to 
supply a cargo of tar, pitch, boards, ashes, and such articles 
as they had it in their power to procure, although with great 
difficulty and labor. So effectually did he exert himself, and so 
much authority had he acquired over the delicate gentlemen under 
his control, whose tender hands blistered with the use of the axe, 
that in a short time he had provided a sufficient cargo for Captain 
Newport, who at length departed, leaving two hundred souls in 
the colony. By the return of the vessel Smith wrote to the coun- 
cil a letter detailing the cause of their mishaps, assuring them that 
they need not expect a sudden acquisition of wealth, and that 
nothing was to be obtained but by labor. He complained of the 
want of judgment and economy in the expenditure for the benefit 
of the colony, which prevented them from reaping an advantage 
of greater value than a hundred pounds judiciously expended 
would purchase, from an actual outlay by the company of two or 
three thousand. He also especially complained of the habits and 
character of the men sent out, and entreated them when they sent 
again, rather to send "but thirty carpenters, husbandmen, garden- 
ers, fishermen, blacksmiths, masons, and diggers up of tree-roots, 
well provided, than a thousand such as they had ; for unless they 
could both lodge and feed them, the}^ would perish with want before 
they could be made good for any thing." 

From the departure of the ship until the next arrival, the men 
1 finq w^^6 only preserved from perishing by the most active and 
unremitting exertions of their president, the detail of 
whose conduct in his intercourse with the savages, and his man- 
agement of the ill-assorted, disorderly, turbulent spirits under his 
control, is one of the most interesting stories in history, and proves 
him to have been a man of extraordinary abilities. 

Although the fond anticipations of the Virginia company had been entirely disap- 
pointed, a spirit seems to have prevailed, which was rather disposed to surmount all 
difficulties by increased exertion, than to succumb to the accumulated misfortunes which 
had already been encountered. 

The company seemed to have perceived their error in expecting a sudden acquisition 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 31 

of wealth from their American possessions ; and the defects in the government estab- 
M V 2^ 1 fiflq I'shed by the first charter. To remedy these evils a new charter was 
^ ' ■ obtained, in which many individuals and corporate bodies were included, 

of great wealth, power, and reputation. 

By the new charter the power which had before been reserved by the king was now 
transferred to the company itself ; which was to have the power of choosing the supreme 
council in England, and of legislating in all cases for the colony. The powers of the 
governor were enlarged from those of a mere president of the council, to supreme and 
absolute civil and military control ; the instructions and regulations of the supreme 
council being his only guide or check. There can be no doubt but that this was the only 
practicable government which could be offered to a colony in the situation and composed 
of the materials which then existed in Virginia. The members of the council had only 
been so many petty tyrants, — the indolent and weak thwarting the exertions of the 
industrious and intelligent, and the cowardly and factious disputing the authority and 
impugning the motives of such as were brave and honorable. In truth, whenever any 
thing good had thus far been done, it was by the exercise of absolute authority by a mind 
superior to the rest ; and whatever had gone wrong, might with truth be attributed almost 
as much to the opposing views of the various members of the council, as to tlie disposi- 
tion of some to do wrong. 

Lord De La Ware received the appointment of governor for life 
under the new charter, and an avarice whicH would listen to no 
possibility of defeat, and which already dreamed of a flourishing 
empire in America, surrounded him with stately officers, suited by 
their titles and nominal charges to the dignity of an opulent king- 
dom. The condition of the public mind favored colonization ; 
swarms of people desired to be transported ; and the adventurers 
with cheerful alacrity contributed free-will offerings. The widely 
diffused enthusiasm soon enabled the company to dispatch a fleet 
of nine vessels, containing more than five hundred emigrants. 
Newport was made admiral, and was joint commissioner with Sir 
Thomas Gates and Sir George Somers to administer the affairs of 
the colony until the arrival of the governor. But these three indi- 
viduals, with a ceremonious punctilio characteristic of little minds, 
seeking that distinction from artificial positions in society which 
they cannot obtain by their own merit, could not agree in a con- 
test for precedence, and hence were compelled, as a compromise, 
all to go in the same ship : thus exposing the colony to all the 
danger of anarchy rather than that one should appear by the ship 
he occupied to be a greater man than the other. 

They accordingly embarked with their commission, their direc- 
tions, and much of the provision, in the Sea Venture. When near 
the coast of Virginia they encountered a violent storm which de- 
stroyed one small vessel, and drove the Sea Venture so far to sea 
that she stranded on the rocks of the Bermudas. Seven ships 
arrived in safety. 

When Smith heard of the arrival of this immense fleet, he at first supposed it belonged 
to Spain, and was sent to take possession of the colony ; he accordingly made all things 
ready, with his usual promptness and energy of character, to give them a warm reception, 
and little fear was entertained of the result. Smith had by this time by his good con- 
duct brought the savages so completely into subjection, by their admiration for his quali- 
ties and fear of his power, that they had become subjects and servants, planting and work- 
ing for him as he required ; and now, when it was thought he was about to be attacked 
by the Spaniards, they lent him all the aid in their power. 

The company in England had not attended to the wise advice of Smith in the selec- 



32 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

tion of their colonists, for it must be remarked that he had no friend at home, while his 
enemies were suffered there to make their own representations. In the new batch of 
oificers Ratcliffe and Archer were sent back, who had been sent home in disgrace for 
their idle, dissolute, and mutinous conduct. They prejudiced the minds of the other 
officers so much against Smith, on the voyage, that they hated him mortally before they 
had seen him. The historian of the times regrets that the fleet was not composed of 
Spaniards instead of Englishmen, and thinks it would have been better for the colony. 

The newly-imported " unruly gallants, packed hither by their friends to escape 
ill destinies," taking sides with Ratcliffe, Archer, and their confederates against the 
president, whose commission they affected to consider as having been superseded by the 
new commission, conducted themselves very riotously, and refused to remain in subor- 
dination to any authority. Smith bore this for some time patiently, expecting every 
moment the arrival of the new commission, and wishing, when that event happened, to 
depart for England, and leave the scene of his great sufferings and glorious exertions ; 
being willing to quit the service of a company, who could so unceremoniously dispense 
with his authority, for the purpose of putting individuals over him who had no claims 
upon them, and who knew nothing of the management of the colony. Fortunately the 
commissioners had been stranded, and did not arrive, and Smith could no longer suffer 
affairs to remain in confusion. After his resolution was taken, he quickly laid by the 
heels the most factious, who had been perpetually plotting his destruction, and engaging 
in all kinds of mischief, until he could have leisure to do them justice. 

The number still remaining at large in Jamestown being too great for that position, 
and more than could be well supported or easily managed, he dispatched West with a 
hundred and twenty of the best men he could select, to form a settlement at the falls ; 
and Martin, with nearly as many more, to Nansemond ; providing them with a fair 
proportion of food and other necessary articles. Martin managed badly ; his jealous 
fears induced him to attack the savages in his neighborhood, who had treated him 
well, and take possession of a large quantity of their corn and other property — while 
his cowardly caution or criminal tenderness permitted them to rally, and in their turn 
attack his men with impunity, to kill and wound several, and retake all they had lost. 
He sent to Jamestown for a reinforcement, which he did not employ when he received, 
but hastened thither himself, cowering under the protection of Smith's prowess, and 
leaving his men to their fate. 

The president set out for the falls, a few days after West had 
departed, and found that he had located himself in an exceedingly 
inconvenient station, subject to inundation, and surrounded by 
other intolerable inconveniences. He offered a fair proposition to 
Powhatan, for the purchase of his place called Powhatan, which 
he was willing to accept ; but the disorderly spirits he had sent 
thither, who were dreaming that the country immediately above 
them was full of gold, to which they wished no one to have access 
but themselves, refused the place or to ratify the contract, despis- 
ing alike his kindness and his authority. The president, with his 
five men, went boldly among them, and seized the ringleaders of 
the mutiny ; but the whole number of a hundred and twenty 
gathering in upon him, forced him to retire, but not without seiz- 
ing one of their boats, with which he took possession of the ship, 
in which their provision was lodged. Fortunately for Smith, he 
was sustained by the mariners, v^^ho had learned his character 
from his old soldiers and their own observations of his conduct, 
as well as by several of the officers, who had learned the error 
of their first prejudices, deserted his adversaries, and become his 
firm friends. The Indians came to Smith, whom they considered 
as their friend and protector, complaining bitterly of the maltreat- 
ment of the party at the falls, stating that they were worse than 
their old enemies the Monocans, from whom it was the duty of the 



OUTLINE HISTOEY. 33 

party to protect them ; and seeing their turbulent disobedience, 
they offered their aid to chastise them. Smith remained nine 
days longer trying to heal these differences, and to convince them 
of the absurdity of their " gilded hopes of the South sea mines." 
But finding all in vain, he set out lor Jamestow^n. Such vision- 
ary and disorderly persons were the first civilized inhabitants of 
the present polished, intelligent, and hospitable city of Richmond. 
No sooner was Smith's voyage commenced down the river, than 
the savages attacked those he left behind him, and slew many, 
and so frightened the rest, that they suffered the prisoners they 
held in custody to escape. The terrified wretches fled for safety 
to Smith, whose ship had grounded, and submitted, without stipu- 
lation, to his mercy. He seized six or seven of the ringleaders, 
and imprisoned them ; the rest he placed in the savage fort Pow- 
hatan, which from the beauty of its position, the excellence of its 
houses and fortifications, and other advantages, was called Non- 
such. He also satisfied the savages. This fair prospect was 
again marred by the imbecility of West, who listened to the deceit- 
ful tales and whining entreaties of the prisoners, and released 
them, which again threw all things into disorder ; the evil dis- 
posed being the more encouraged in their mutinous conduct now, 
by the possession of their provisions and stores, which had been 
returned to them at the time of their previous submission. They 
abandoned Non-such, and returned to their former inconvenient 
station at West's fort. Smith, finding it impossible to restore tran- 
quillity, again set sail down the river. 

In his progress an unfortunate accident occurred, which deprived 
the colony of his services, and was near depriving him of life. 
His powder-bag accidentally exploded while he was sleeping, 
and tore the flesh from his body and thighs in a horrible manner. 
The pain was so acute that he threw himself into the river to cool 
the burning sensation, and was near drowning before he could be 
recovered. He had yet to go nearly one hundred miles in this 
situation, before he could reach a surgeon, or have any soothing 
application applied to his wound. 

When he returned to Jamestown, the time for the trial of Rat- 
cliffe and Archer was approaching, and these worthies, fearing the 
result, hired an assassin to murder him in his bed, but the heart 
of the wretch failed him ere he could fire the fatal shot. Failing 
in this, their next hope was to save their lives, by possessing them- 
selves of the government ; but in this they were disappointed by 
Smith, who, having in vain urged all those he thought most 
worthy to accept the presidency, resigned it to Mr. Percy, who 
was about to sail for England, but was induced to stay under the 
present embarrassing circumstances, to prevent the supreme con- 
trol of the colony from falling into the hands of the miscreants 
who aspired to it. 

Smith, finding himself disabled by his wound, the pain of which 
almost deprived him of his reason, and seeing that there was not 

5 



34 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

sufRcient surgical skill in the colony to restore him, determined to 
depart for England. He well knew that, in his disabled state, the 
colony was no place for him ; for it had required his utmost exertion 
in health to suppress faction at home, keep the Indians in awe, and, 
by tlie most unceasing activity, supply the colony with provision. 
He departed under the most mortifying circumstances ; " his com- 
mission was suppressed, he knew not why — himself and soldiers 
to be rewarded, he knew not how — and a new commission granted, 
they knew not to whom." After his determination was known, 
the ships, which were to have departed the next day, were retained 
three weeks, while the mutinous captains were perfecting some 
colorable charges to send home against him. Never had the colony 
sustained such a loss. His conduct and his character will be best 
given in the language of those who knew him best. A writer, 
who was with him in his troubles, speaking of the attempt to 
usurp the government immediately before his departure, says : 

" But had that unhappy blast not happened, he would quickly 
have qualified the heat of those humors and factions, had the ships 
but once left them and us to our fortunes ; and have made the 
provision from among the savages, as we neither feared Spaniard, 
savage, nor famine ; nor would have left Virginia nor our lawful 
authority, but at as dear a price as we had bought it and paid for 
it. What shall I say but thus : we left him, that in all his proceed- 
ings, made justice his first guide, and experience his second, even 
hating baseness, sloth, pride, and indignity, more than any danger, 
— that never allowed more for himself, than his soldiers with him 
that upon no danger would send them where he would not lead 
them himself; — that would never see us want what he either had, 
or could by any means get us ; — that would rather want than bor- 
row, or starve than not pay ; — that loved action more than words, 
and hated falsehood and covetousness worse than death ; whose 
adventures were our lives, and whose loss our deaths." 



CHAPTER III. 

PROGRESS OF THE COLONY MASSACRE OF 1622 DISSOLUTION OF THE 

LONDON COMPANY. 

State of the colony at Smith's departure — its conduct and consequent sufferings. — Arri- 
val of Gates — of Lord De La Ware — his departure. — Arrival of Dale. — Martial Law. 
— Gates Governor. — Grants of land to individuals. — New charter. — Marriage of 
Pocahontas. — Friendly relations with the Indians. — Cultivation of Tobacco. — Tenure 
of lands. — Tyranny of Argall. — Propriety of Reform in the government, — Yeardley 
Governor. — First colonial assembly in 1619. — Introductioii of women. — Introduction 
of negroes by the Dutch in 1620. — Constitution brought over by Sir Francis Wyatt. 
— Relations with the Indians. — Massacre of the 22rf of March, 1622 — its conse. 
quences. — Struggles between the king and the company. — Commissioners sent to Vir~ 
ginia. — Firmness of the Virginians. — Dissolution of the company. 

When Smith left the colony, it contained four hundred and 
ninety odd persons. The harvest was newly gathered, and there 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 35 

was provision for ten weeks in the stores. The savages were in 
a good state of subjection, and readily yielded at a reasonable price 
whatever they could spare. All things were in such a condition 
that prudent management might have ensured the most brilliant 
success, but the wildest confusion and anarchy prevailed. The 
new president was so ill that he could not attend to business, and 
twenty others endeavored to hold the reins of government. When 
the savages found that Smith was gone, they speedily attacked and 
broke up the establishments at Powhatan and Nansemond, driving 
in the remnant of the men their butcheries left, to subsist upon the 
rapidly wasting provisions of Jamestown. Ratcliffe with a ves- 
sel and thirty men attempting to trade with Powhatan, was by his 
carelessness cut off, and he himself with all his company perished 
except two, who were saved by the humanity of Pocahontas. 
West with a crew of thirty escaped in a ship to become pirates.* 
The miserable company, now left without control or authority, and 
composed with a few exceptions of " gentlemen, tradesmen, serv- 
ing-men, libertines, and such-like, ten times more fit to spoil a com- 
monwealth, than either begin one, or but help to maintain one," 
now gave free rein to all their evil dispositions. Each one sought 
only to gratify his passions or preserve his own life, without regard 
to the wants or sufferings of the rest. There was no union, no 
concert, no harmony. Vice stalked abroad in her naked deformity, 
and her handmaids, misery and famine, followed in her train. The 
savages attacked and slew the whites upon every occasion, and 
forming a systematic plan to starve the remainder, they would 
supply no further provisions ; after they had bought every disposa- 
ble article at the fort, even to most of their arms, at such a price 
as they chose to exact. The corn was speedily consumed ; next 
followed the domestic animals, poultry, hogs, goats, sheep, and 
finally the horses ; all were consumed, even to their skins. The 
only resource was in roots, acorns, berries, and such other unwhole- 
some stuff as could be found ; nay, so pinching was the hunger, 
that savages who had been slain and buried were disinterred to 
be consumed, and even some of the whites who had perished were 
used to preserve life by the rest. Of nearly five hundred that 
Smith left, in six months only sixty emaciated beings remained 
alive ; and these were without the possibility of support for longer 
than ten days. 

When Gates and Sumner were shipwrecked on the Bermuda rocks, their good man- 
agement saved the life of every individual, and a large proportion of their provision and 
stores. On this island, although uninhabited, nature was so bountiful, and presented 
spontaneously such a rich variety of productions suitable to the sustenance of man, that 
three hundred and fifty men lived in ease and abundance for nearly ten months. The 
disagreeable idea of remaiiiing thus upon an island, cut off from all intercourse with the 
rest of the world, stimulated them to the exertion necessary to build two barks, with 
such rude instruments as they possessed, from the wreck of their old ship and the cedars 
of the island. In these they embarked for Virginia, expecting to find, in the comforts 

* Smith in book 4, p. 2, says, " sailed for England." — Bancroft, 156, says, on thft 
authority of Stith, " became pirates." 



36 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

and plenty of a flourishing colony, ample solace for all their toils and difficulties. What, 
■JUT no then, was their astonishment, when they reached Jamestown, (after a more 
^ ■ prosperous voyage than they could have expected in their crazy vessels,) to 
meet, instead of the warm and joyful welcome of their countrymen, in the full fruition 
of health and plenty, only the greedy cravings of a few miserable wretches, begging for 
a sufficiency of food to preserve their existence. Not anticipating this melancholy situ- 
ation, they had only provided themselves with enough provision for their voyage, and 
were unable to relieve the necessities of their fellow-creatures, whose sufferings it was 
so painful to witness. It was impossible, in this situation, to remain longer in the colony. 
All were embarked on board the vessels, Jamestown was abandoned, and it was with 
difficulty that its departing citizens could be pi-evented from setting fire to the habitations 
in which they had suffered so much misery. All the provisions which could be raised 
did not amount to more than would support them for 16 days, at the most limited allow- 
ance ; yet with this they set out with the hope to reach Newfoundland, where they 
expected to be relieved by the British fishing-vessels. 

But although it had been the will of Heaven to permit the colo- 
nists to receive an avi^ful chastisement for their misconduct, yet it 
was not decreed by the Ruler of all human affairs that the colony 
should be entirely abandoned, and so much labor and suffering be 
useless to mankind, or so fine a country left in its original wild 
and unimproved condition. Before Gates and his associates had 
reached the mouth of James River, they were met by Lord De La 
Ware, with three ships, having on board a number of new settlers, 
an ample stock of provisions, and every thing requisite for defence 
or cultivation. By persuasion and authority he prevailed upon 
T in IfilO them to return to Jamestown, where they found 
' ■ their fort and houses and magazines in the same 

situation in which they had been left. A society with so bad a 
constitution, and such a weak and disordered frame, required skilful 
and tender nursing to restore it to vigor. Lord De La Ware was 
fully competent to his station. He held a long consultation to 
ascertain the cause of the previous difficulties, and concluded, 
after listening to their mutual accusations, by a speech full of 
wholesome advice, recommending the course they should pursue, 
and assuring them that he should not hesitate to exercise his law- 
ful authority in punishing the insubordinate, dissolute, and idle. 
By unwearied assiduity, by the respect due to an amiable and 
beneficent character, by knowing how to mingle severity with 
indulgence, and when to assume the dignity of his office, as well 
as when to display the gentleness natural to his own temper, he 
gradually reconciled men corrupted by anarchy to subordination 
and discipline, he turned' the attention of the idle and profligate to 
industry, and taught the Indians again to reverence and dread the 
English name. Under such an administration, the colony began 

T\/roi>oii o« lAn once more to assume a promising appearance, 
lYiarcn .*o, loii. ■< i ■!/• '^ t x* ^j* 

when, unhappily tor it, a complication of diseases 

brought on by the climate obliged Lord De La Ware to quit the 
country, the government of which he committed to Mr. Percy. 
The colony at this time consisted of about two hundred men ; but 
the departure of the governor was a disastrous event, which pro- 
duced not only a despondency at Jamestown, but chilled the zeal- 
ous warmth of the London company, and caused a decided reac- 



OUTLINE HISTORY. S7 

tion in the popular mind in England, which was exhibited in the 
manner in which popular feeling delights to display itself — by- 
exhibiting the Virginia colony as a subject of derision upon the 
stage. 

Before the departure of Lord De La Ware, the company in 
England had dispatched Sir Thomas Dale with supplies ; and it 
1. «^ „ was well he arrived so soon, for the company were al- 

^^ ' ready fast relapsing to their former state of idleness and 
improvidence, and had neglected to plant corn, which he caused 
to be done immediately. The company having found all their 
previous systems of government inefficient, granted to Sir Thomas 
Dale more absolute authority than had been granted to any of his 
predecessors, — impowering him to rule by martial law, a short 
code of which, founded on the practice of the armies in the Low 
Countries, (the most rigid school at that time in Europe,) they sent 
out with him. This system of violent and arbitrary government 
was recommended by Sir Francis Bacon, the most enlightened phi- 
losopher, and one of the most eminent lawyers of his age. It 
proves the depth of his sagacity ; for it would have been absurd 
to apply the refined speculative theories of civil government to a 
set of mutinous, undisciplined, idle, ignorant creatures, shut up in 
a fort, surrounded by hostile nations, and dependent upon their own 
exertions for support. Surely, in such a case a strong government 
w^as as necessary as in a ship at sea, and more so than in ordinary 
military stations, where habitual discipline preserves order and 
ensures respect to the officers. 

The governor who was now intrusted with this great but neces- 
sary power, exercised it with prudence and moderation. By the 
vigor which the summary mode of military punishment gave to 
his administration, he introduced into the colony more perfect order 
than had ever been established there ; and at the same time he 
tempered its vigor with so much discretion, that no alarm seems 
to have been given by this innovation. 

In May, Sir Thomas Dale wrote to England full information of 
the weakness of the colony, but recommending in strong terms 
the importance of the place. His favorable representations were 
fully confirmed by Lord De La Ware and Sir Thomas Gates. The 
hopes of the company were resuscitated, and in August, Gates 
arrived at Jamestown with six ships and three hundred emigrants. 
The colony, which now consisted of seven hundred men, was sur- 
rendered into the hands of Gates ; and Dale, by his permission, 
made a settlement with three hundred and fifty chosen men upon 
a neck nearly surrounded by the river, which, in honor of Prince 
Henry, he called Henrico. 

One of the greatest checks to industry which had hitherto existed in the colony was 
the community of property in the provisions and stores. The idle and dissipated, seeing 
that they were to have a full share, had no stimulus to exertion, and the industrious 
were disheartened by seeing the larger portion of the fruits of their industry consumed 
by the idle members of the little society. So discouraging was this state of things to 
exertion, that frequently, in the best times, the labor of thirty did not accomplish mora 



38 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

than was done under a different system by three. Gates perceived the evil and applied 
the remedy. He distributed a certain portion of land to each individual to be worked 
for his own benefit, still paying, however, a small portion of his produce to the general 
store to provide against contingencies. This policy was found so advantageous that 
every encouragement was afforded to individual enterprise in the acquisition of wealth. 
But little respect was paid to the rights of the Indians ; for some depredation or injury 
from the tribe of Apamatuck, they were dispossessed of their corn and their cabins, 
which, " considering the position commodious," were unceremoniously appropriated by 
the English to their own benefit. 

The colony now having extended considerably, assumed a more regular form, by pur- 
M h 12 lfi12 ^^^'^S ^ '^ore consistent system of policy ; and beginning to promise 
' ■ permanency, a new charter was granted by James. This confirmed 

and enlarged all the privileges and immunities which had been previously granted, 
extended the time of exemption from duties, and enlarged their territory and jurisdiction 
to all islands and seats within three hundred miles of the coast. This included the 
lewly discovered, fertile Bermudas, which were soon after sold by the company to one 
hundred and twenty of its members. 

This new charter made some changes in the constitution of the company, by giving 

more power to the company itself and less to the council ; it also conferred the power 

of raising money by lottery for the benefit of the colony, which was the first introduc- 

M h IfiOl tion of this pernicious system of taxation into England, and which was 

' ■ soon after prohibited by act of Parliament, but not until the company 

had raised nearly thirty thousand pounds by the privilege. 

As the new system of policy had increased the independence and preserved the num- 
bers of the colony, so had it increased its strength and the respect of the savages. One 
powerful tribe now voluntarily sought British protection, and became British subjects ; 
another was brought to a close and friendly alliance by a tenderer tie than fear could 
afford. 

Captain Argall, in a voyage to the Potomac for the purpose of 
purchasing corn, fell in with an old chief named lapazaws, to 
whom Powhatan had intrusted Pocahontas, which he disclosed to 
Argall, and offered to sell her to him for a copper kettle. The 
bargain was made, and Pocahontas being enticed on board by the 
cunning of her guardian, was carried off without once suspecting 
the treachery of the old hypocrite. The authorities at Jamestown 
availed themselves of the possession of this lucky prize to endeavor 
to extort from Powhatan a high ransom ; but the old emperor, 
though he really loved his daughter, seemed to be so highly af- 
fronted at the indignity offered him, that he preferred fighting 
those who had robbed him of his daughter to purchasing her free- 
dom. But while this matter was in agitation, a treaty of a differ- 
ent character was going forward between the young princess her- 
self and Mr. Rolfe, a highly respectable young gentleman of 
Jamestown, who, struck by her beauty, and fascinated by her man- 
ners, so far superior to the rest of her race, wooed and won her 
affections, and obtained a promise of her hand. The news of this 
amicable adjustment of all difficulties soon reached the ears of 
Powhatan, and met with his cordial approbation. He sent the 
uncle and two brothers of Pocahontas to witness the nuptial cere- 
monies at Jamestown, which were solemnized with great pomp, 
according to the rites of the English .church. From this marriage 
several of the most highly respected families in Virginia trace 
their descent. Happy would it have been for both races, if this 
amalgamation had been promoted by other instances, but this is 
the only case upon record. This marriage secured the permanent 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 39 

friendship of Powhatan, and all under his influence ; and the 
Chickahominies, his next neighbors, when they heard of it, sent 
deputies, and submitted by solemn treaty to become subjects to 
King James, and to submit to his governor in the colony, — to pay 
tribute, — and furnish men to fight against whatever enemies should 
attack the colony ; only stipulating that at home they should con- 
tinue to be governed by their own laws. 

We have already mentioned a partial distribution of lands by 
Sir Thomas Dale, for the purpose of encouraging individual indus- 
try ; it may be well to explain more in detail the tenure by which 
lands were held by individuals. At the favored Bermudas plan- 
tation, near the mouth of the Appomattox, either on account of 
the greater merit, longer service, or some favorable circumstances 
attending the expense of the emigration of the tenants, the lands 
were held by a rent of two and a half barrels of corn annually to 
the general stock, and one month's service, which was not to be 
in time of sowing or of harvest. Those who had been brought 
over at the expense of the company, had three acres of land allot- 
ted them, and two bushels of corn from the public store, and with 
this scanty allowance were required to support themselves by one 
month's labor ; the other eleven being required by the company. 
This species of laborers had decreased in 1617 to fifty-four, includ- 
ing all classes ; and these were finally released entirely from their 
vassalage by Sir George Yeardley, in 1617. The original bounty 
to emigrants coming at their own expense, or that of others than 
the company, had been one hundred acres of land ; but after the 
colony became better settled, it was reduced to fifty, the actual 
occupancy of which gave a right to as many more. The payment 
of twelve pounds and ten shillings to the treasurer of the company, 
entitled the adventurer to a grant of one hundred acres, the occu- 
pancy of which also secured a right to as many more.* 

The labor of the colony, which had been for a long time misdirected in the manufac- 
ture of ashes, soap, glass, and tar, in which they could by no means compete with 
Sweden and Russia, and also in planting vines which require infinite labor and atten- 
tion, and for which subsequent experiments have indicated the climate to be unfit, was 
at length directed, by the extended use of tobacco in England,! almost exclusively to 
the cultivation of that article. This commodity always finding a ready price, and af- 

,r.,r fairs being now so regulated that each one could enjoy the fruits of his labor, 

was cultivated so assiduously, as to take off the attention of the planters too 

much from raising corn, so that it became scarce, and supplies had again to be looked 

for from England, or purchased of the Indians. The fields, gardens, public squares, and 

* Smith, Book IV. p. 18. Bancroft, I. p. 167. Burke. 

t Note by Robertson. — " It is a matter of some curiosity, to trace the progress of the 
consumption of this unnecessary commodity. The use of tobacco seems to have been 
first introduced into England about the year 1586. Possibly a few seafaring persons 
may have acquired a relish for it, by their intercourse with the Spaniards, previous to 
that period ; but it could by no means be denominated a national habit anterior to that 
date. Upon an average of the seven years immediately preceding the year 1 622, the 
whole import of tobacco into England amounted to a hundred and forty-two thousand 
and eighty-five pounds weight. Stith, p. 246. From this it appears that the taste had 
spread with a rapidity which is remarkable. But how inconsiderable is that quantity 
to what is consumed now in Great Britain !" or now ! ! 



40 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

even the streets of Jamestown, were planted with tobacco, and thus becoming an ar- 
ticle of universal desire, it became, to a great extent, the circulating medium of the col- 
ony. Not only private debts, but salaries and officers' fees were paid in tobacco ; and 
the statute-book to this day rarely mentions the payment of money, that it does not add, 
as an equivalent, " or tobacco " 

Early in the year 1614, Sir Thomas Gates had returned to Eng- 
land, leaving the colony, which then consisted of about four hun- 
dred men, under the command of Sir Thomas Dale, who in his 
turn desiring to visit England and his family, left the colony in 
1616, under the protection and control of Sir Thomas Yeardley. 

With Dale, Mr. Rolfe and his interesting bride, Pocahontas, 
sailed. By a communication from Smith, her amiable and valua- 
ble conduct was made known at court, and every attention was 
shown her, both by the queen and many of the nobility. This ex- 
cellent princess, whose deportment was so far superior to that 
which the condition of her race would authorize one to expect, 
that it won for her universal admiration and esteem, was destined 
never more to behold her father or her native land. She died at 
Gravesend, where she was preparing to embark with her husband 
and child for Virginia. Peace to her gentle spirit ! Her memory 
will not perish while the commonwealth of Virginia endures, or 
noble and generous actions are valued by her sons. 

Yeardley's administration was similar to that of his predeces- 
sors, enforcing obedience from his own men, and the respect of the 
savages. He was succeeded, in 1617, by Captain Argall, who was 
a rough seaman, accustomed to the despotic sway of his own ship, 
naturally tyrannical in his disposition, cruel and covetous, in short, 
a person utterly unfit to be trusted with the administration of the 
arbitrary government which then existed in Virginia. For al- 
though we have considered such a government the only practica- 
ble one which could have been then established, yet it required the 
utmost firmness in the governor, tempered by mildness, prudence, 
and discretion, to make it tolerable. Such had been the case under 
the administration of Gates, Dale, and Yeardley, and under them 
the colony had prospered more than it had ever done before.; but 
such was not the disposition of this new governor. Instead of 
holding the severity of the laws in terrorem over them, and not 
actually resorting to the extent of his power, except in cases of 
extreme necessity, he sought to bring innocent actions within the 
letter of the law, which indeed was not very difficult with the 
bloody military code which then existed. These arbitrary exer- 
tions of power were principally used in the gratification of his 
inordinate rapacity, which, in its indiscriminate grasp, sought not 
only to clutch the property of the colonists, but also trespassed 
upon the profits of the company. Not satisfied with perverting 
the labor of the free colonists to his own use or pleasures, he con- 
sumed the time of the servants of the company upon his own 
plantations. At length his conduct was so flagitious, in the case 
of one Brewster, who was left by Lord Delaware to manage his 




POCAHONTAS. 

The above is copied from an engraving said to be an exact copy of an original drawing 
of the " Lady Rebecca," or Pocahontas, as she is usually called. It shows her in the 
fashionable English dress of the time in which she lived. The following is inscribed 
around and >inderneath the original portrait. 

"Matoka als Rebecca Filia Potentiss Princ: Powhatani Imp: Virginia." 
" Matoaks als Rebecka, daughter to the mighty Prince Powhatan, Emperour of Attanough' 
kommick als Virginia, converted and baptised in the C/iristian faith, and wife tu the wor^l Mr. 
Joh Rolff." " Stalls suce 21 A. D. 1616." 



OUTLINE HISTORY. . 41 

estate, and who only sought to prevent Argall from utterly despoil- 
ing it, that neither the colony nor company could bear his tyranny 
longer, but he was deposed and Sir George Yeardley sent in his 
place. Yet he contrived to escape punishment, by the misman- 
agement of some and the connivance of others, and preserved all 
of his ill-gotten booty. 

One of the first acts of Yeardley was to emancipate the remaining servants of the 
colony. The labor now being free, each man enjoying the fruits of his own industry, 

,fj,q and anxious to increase his store, there was no fear of scarcity, and no time or 
opportunity for mutiny among the scattered and industrious planters. With 
the increasing strength and independence* of the colony, all fear of the savages had 
vanished. It is manifest that in these altered circumstances, a modification of the de- 
spotic government ought to have been made, because its severity was no longer neces- 
sary, and while the power existed it might be abused, as the colony seriously experien- 
ced in the case of Argall. The only use of government is to ensure the safety of the 
state from external foes, to secure justice and the free disposition of person and property 
to each individual, and sometimes to aid in the prosecution of such objects of general 
utility as individual enterprise cannot accomplish. The moment the colonists began to 
take an interest in the country, by the enjoyment of their own labor, and the possession 
of property, it was right that they should have some share in that government, in the 
prudent conduct of which they were most interested. Yeardley was aware of this, for 
without any authority from home which we can trace, he called together a General As- 
sembly consisting of two members from every town, borough, or hundred, besides the 
governor and council, which met at Jamestown, near the end of June, 1619. In this 
assembly seven corporations were represented, and four more were laid off in the course 
of the same summer. 

In this first North American legislature, wherein were " debated all matters thought 
expedient for the good of the colony," several acts were passed which were pronounced 
by the treasurer of the company to be " well and judiciously carried," but which are 
unfortunately lost to posterity. This was an eventful year to the colony, for in addition 
to their assembly, a college was established in Henrico, with a liberal endowment. King 
James had exacted jC15,000 from the several bishops of his kingdom for the purpose of 
educating Indian children, and 10,000 acres of land were now added by the company ; 
and the original design was extended to make it a seminary of learning also for the 
English. One hundred idle and dissolute persons, in custody for various misdemeanors, 
were transported by the authority of the king and against the wishes of the company to 
Virginia. They were distributed through the colony as servants to the planters ; and 
the degradation of the colonial character produced by such a process, was endured for 
the assistance derived from them in executing the various plans of industry, that were 
daily extending themselves. This beginning excited in the colonists a desire for using 
more extensively other labor than their own, an opportunity for the gratification of which, 
unfortunately, too soon occurred. In this eventful year, too, a new article was intro- 
duced into the trade of the company with the colony, by the good policy of the treasurer, 
Sir Edward Sandys, which produced a material change in the views and feelings of the 
colonists with regard to the country. At the accession of Sir Edwin to office, after 
twelve years labor, and an expenditure of eighty thousand pounds by the company, 
there were in the colony no more than six hundred persons, men, women, and children. 
In one year he provided a passage for twelve hundred and sixty-one new emigrants. 
Among these were ninety agreeable young women, poor but respectable and incorrupt, 
to furnish wives to the colonists. The wisdom of this policy is evident, — the men had 
hitherto regarded Virginia only as a place of temporary sojourn for the acquisition of 
wealth, and never dreamed of making a permanent residence in a place where it was 
impossible to enjoy any of the comforts of domestic life. They had consequently none 
of those endearing ties of home and kindred to bind them to the country, or attach 
them to its interests, which are so necessary to make a good citizen. This new com- 
modity was transported at the expense of the colony, and sold to the young planters, 
and the following year another consignment was made of sixty young maids of virtuous 

* The savages now sometimes purchased corn of the English, instead of supplying 
them as formerly. 

6 



42 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

education, young, handsome, and well recommended. A wife lu the first lot sold gen 
erally for one hundred pounds of tobacco, but as the value of the new article became 
known in the market, the price rose, and a wife would bring a hundred and fifty pounds 
of tobacco. A debt for a wife was of higher dignity than other debts, and to be paid 
first. As an additional inducement to marriage, married men were generally preferred 
in the selection of officers for the colony. Domestic ties were formed, habits of thrift 
ensued, comforts were increased, and happiness diffused ; the tide of emigration swelled : 
within three years fifty patents for land were granted, and three thousand five hundred 
persons found their way to Virginia. 

In "the month of August of this year an event occurred which stamped its impress 
If 9(1 upon the constitution of Virginia, and indeed of the whole southern portion of 
America so deeply, that it will be difficult to erase it save by the destruction of 
society. This was the introduction of twenty African slaves by a Dutch vessel, which 
availed itself of the freedom of commerce, which had been released from the shackles 
of the company's monopoly in the early part of this year, to rivet forever the bonds of 
slavery upon a portion of their fellow-creatures and their descendants. The indented 
and covenanted servants which had been long known in Virginia, and whose condition 
was little better than that of slavery, was a small evil and easily removed, because they 
were of the same color and country with their masters ; when they were emancipated 
they leaped at once from their shackles to the full dignity of freedom. No one scorned 
to associate with them, and no one spurned their alliance ; if honorable and worthy in 
other respects, they were equal to their masters, and might even rise to distinction. But 
not so tiie poor African. Nature has fixed upon him a stamp which cannot be erased 
or forgotten, the badge of his bondage is borne with him, when his fetters have crumbled 
to the dust. 

The overbearing disposition of King James created a powerful 
j)opular party in England, which being unable to establish a liberal 
government at home, was determined to secure for free principles a 
safe asylum in the colonies. The accomplishment of this determina- 
tion was accelerated by the disposition of the king to intermeddle 
with this very subject. He was exceedingly jealous of the company, 
in which the patriot party prevailed, and suspicious of the liberal 
principles discussed in its meetings with uncontrolled freedom ; he 
feared it as the school of debate, and nursery of parliamentary 
leaders. Upon the resignation of Sir Edwin Sandys of his office 
M 17 ir2n ^s treasurer, the king determined to try the extent 
y ' 'of his influence in the election of a successor to 

this fi.rst office in the company. He accordingly sent in a nomina- 
tion of four individuals, to one of whom he desired the office to be 
given ; but he proved unsuccessful in his attempt at dictation, and 
none of his nominees were elected, but the choice fell upon the Earl 
of Southampton. 

The company having thus vindicated its own privileges, pro- 
ceeded next to guaranty freedom to the colonists, by a constitution 
remarkably liberal for the time and circumstances. This charter 
of freedom, the principles of which the Virginians never could be 
brought subsequently to relinquish, has been preserved to posterity 
in " Summary of the ordinance and constitution of the treasurer, 
council and company in England, for a council of state, and 
another council to be called the General Assembly in Virginia, 
contained in a commission to Sir Francis Wyatt (the first governor 
under that ordinance and constitution) and his council," dated July 
24, 1621. 

The council of state was to be chosen by the treasurer, council 



OUTLINE HISTORY 43 

and company in England, with the power of removal at pleasure ; 
their duty was to advise and assist the governor, and to constitute 
a portion of the General Assembly. This General Assembly was 
to be called by the governor once a year, and not oftener, unless 
on very extraordinary and important occasions ; it was to consist, 
, in addition to the council of state, of two burgesses, out of every 
town, hundred, or other particular plantation, to be respectively 
chosen by the inhabitants ; in which council all matters were to 
be decided, determined, and ordered, by the greater part of the 
voices then present, reserving to the governor always a negative 
voice. " And this General Assembly was to have full power, to 
treat, consult, and conclude, as well of all emergent occasions con- 
cerning the public weal of the said colony, and every part thereof, 
as also to make, ordain, and enact such general laws and orders, 
for the behoof of said colony, and the good government thereof, 
as from time to time might seem necessary." 

The General Assembly and council of state were required to 
imitate and follow the policy of the form of government, laws, 
customs, and manner of trial, and of the administration of justice, 
used in the realm of England, as near as might be, as the com- 
pany itself was required to do, by its charter. No law or ordi- 
nance was to continue in force or validity unless it was solemnly 
ratified in a general quarterly court of the company, and returned 
under seal ; and it M^as promised that as soon as the government 
of the colony should once have been Avell framed and settled, that 
no orders of court should afterwards bind the colony, unless they 
were ratified in the same manner by the General Assembly. 

When Sir Francis arrived, he found that neghgence and security among the colo. 
nists, which is the inevitable consequence of a long peace. Old Powhatan had died in 
1618, honored by the esteem and respect of all who knew him — his own people holding 
in grateful remembrance his prowess and policy in youth, and his mildness in age — and 
his English friends and brethren admiring his firm support of his dignity, his paternal 
affection, his mild simplicity, and his native intelligence. He was succeeded in his 
power by Opechancanough, his younger brother, who was cunning, treacherous, revenge- 
ful, and cruel. He renewed the former treaties, with every assurance of good faith, and 
wore the mask of peace and friendship so successfully as completely to lull the whites 
to security. But this crafty prince had always viewed with peculiar jealousy and hate 
the progress of the colonjr. He had given much trouble, and engaged in frequent hos- 
tilities, while he was king of Pamunkee, and it was not to be supposed that he would 
patiently submit to the continued and rapid encroachments of the whites upon his lands, 
to the entire extermination or banishment of his people, now that he possessed the em- 
pire of his brother. But to meet them in the field was impossible, the disparity in arms 
was too great, and the numbers in fighting men now equal ; the attempt would be mad- 
ness and desperation, and lead to that extermination of his race which he wished to 
avoid. His only resource was to strike some great and sudden blow which should anni- 
hilate the power of the colony at once. He had applied to a king who resided on the 
Eastern Shore, to purchase a subtle poison which grew only in his dominions, but this 
king being on good terms with the whites, and wishing to enjoy their trade, refused to 
gratify him. His next resource was in a general massacre, to take effect upon all of 
the scattered plantations on the same day. The situation of the whites favored this 
design ; they not only placed confidence in the words of the savages, which had now 
been so long faithfully kept, but in their weakness and cowardice. They had extended 
their plantations over a space of one hundred and forty miles, on both sides of James 
River, and made some settlements in the neighborhood of the Potomac ; in short, wher- 
ever a rich spot invited to the cultivation of tobacco, there were they established, and 
an absence of neighbors was preferred. The planters were careless with their arms. 



44 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

never using their swords, and their fire-arms only for game. The old law making it 
criminal to teach a savage the use of arms was forgotten, and they were fowlers and 
hunters for many of the planters, by which means they became well acquainted with 
the use of arms and the places in which they were kept. One great object with the 
settlers, and with the company, in whose instructions we find it perpetually enjoined, 
had been the conversion of the Indians to the Christian religion. To promote this pious 
object, they had always been received in the most friendly manner ; they became mar- 
ket people to the planters, and they were fed at their tables, and lodged in their bed- 
chambers as friends and brothers. 

Opechancanough had renewed the treaty with Governor Wyatt, 
and took every other means in his power to avoid suspicion. He 
told a messenger, about the middle of March, that the sky should 
fall ere he would violate the treaty of peace ; only two days before 
the fatal 22d, the English were guided in safety and kindness 
through the forest by the unsuspected Indians ; and a Mr. Browne, 
who had been sent to live among them to learn their language, 
was sent safely to his friends ; — nay, so well was the dread secret 
kept, that the English boats were borrowed to transport the In- 
dians over the river to consult on the " devilish murder that ensued ;" 
and even on the day itself, as well as on the evening before, they 
came as usual unarmed into the settlements with deer, turkeys, 
fish, fruits, and other provisions to sell, and in some places sat down 
to breakfast with the English. The concert and secrecy of this 
great plot is the more astonishing, when we reflect that the savages 
were not living together as one nation, and did not have for most 
purposes unity of action, but were dispersed in little hamlets con- 
taining from thirty to two hundred in a company ; " yet they all 
had warning given them one from another in all their habitations, 
M h 99 1R99 though far asunder, to meet at the day and hour 
' 'appointed for the destruction of the English at 

their several plantations ; some directed to one place, some to 
another, all to be done at the time appointed, which they did 
accordingly: some entering their houses under color of trading, so 
took their advantage ; others drawing them abroad under fair pre- 
tences, and the rest suddenly falling upon those that were at their 
labors." They spared no age, sex, or condition, and were so sud- 
den in their indiscriminate slaughter that few could discern the 
blow or weapon which brought them to destruction. Their fami- 
liarity with the whites led them with fatal precision to the points 
at which they were certain to be found, and that " fatal morning 
fell under the bloody and barbarous hands of that perfidious and 
inhuman people, three hundred and forty-seven men, women, and 
children, principally by their own weapons." Not content with 
this destruction, they brutally defaced and mangled the dead 
bodies, as if they would perpetrate a new murder, and bore off 
the several portions in fiendisli triumph. Those who had treated 
them with especial kindness, and conferred many benefits upon 
them, who confided so much in them that to the last moment they 
could not believe mischief was intended, fared no better than the 
rest. The ties of love and gratitude, the sacred rights of hospi- 
tality and reciprocal friendship, oaths, pledges, and promises, and 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 45 

even the recent and solemn profession of fidelity to an all-merciful 
and omnipotent God, were broken asunder or forgotten in obedi- 
ence to the command of their chief, for the execution of a great 
but diabolical stroke of state policy. With one, and only one, of 
all who had been cherished by the whites, did gratitude for their 
kindness and fidelity to his new religion prevail over his allegi- 
ance to his king and affection for his people. A converted Indian 
who resided with a Mr. Pace, and who was treated by him as a 
son, revealed the plot to him in the night of the 21st. Pace imme- 
diately secured his house and rowed himself up to Jamestown, 
where he disclosed it to the governor, by which means that place 
and all the neighboring plantations, to which intelligence could be 
conveyed, was saved from destruction ; for the cowardly Indians 
when they saw the whites upon their guard immediately retreated. 
Some other places were also preserved by the undaunted courage 
of the occupants, who never failed to beat off" their assailants, if 
they were not slain before their suspicions were excited. By these 
means was Virginia preserved from total annihilation in a single 
hour, by this well-conceived, well-concealed, and well-executed 
plot of her weak and simple adversaries. The larger portion of 
the colony was saved : for a year after the massacre it contained 
two thousand five hundred persons ; but the consternation pro- 
duced by it, caused the adoption of a ruinous policy. Instead of 
marching at once boldly to meet the adversary, and driving him 
from the country, or reducing him to subjection by a bloody retalia- 
tion, the colonists were huddled together from their eighty planta- 
tions into eight, the college, manufactories, and other works of 
public utility were abandoned, and cultivation confined to a space 
almost too limited, merely for subsistence. These crowded quar- 
ters produced sickness, and some were so disheartened that they 
sailed for England. 

In England this disastrous intelligence, so far from dispiriting the company, excited 
their sympathies to such a degree, that it aroused them to renewed exertion, and a more 
obstinate determination to secure, at all hazards, a country which had cost so much 
blood and treasure. Supplies were promptly dispatched ; and even the king was moved 
to the generosity of giving some old rusty arms from the tower, which he never meant 
to use, and promising further assistance, which he never meant to render. 

Serious discussions now took place in the courts of the company as to the course proper 
to be pursued with the Indians, and some advocated their entire subjection, in imitation 
of the example of the Spaniards, — which policy would surely have been more merciful 
than that war of extermination which was carried into effect, whether by deliberate de- 
sign or a system of temporary expedients does not appear. Smith offered the company 
to protect all their planters from the James to the Potomac, -with a permanent force of 
one hundred soldiers and thirty sailors, with one small bark, and means to build several 
shallops ; and there is no doubt but that he would have accomplished it, by which means 
the planters could have employed themselves much more successfully in attending to 
their crops, than when they had to keep perpetual watch, and occasionally to take up 
arms to defend themselves or make an attack upon the enemy. Smith received for 
answer that the company was impoverished, but that he had leave to carry his proposal 
into effect, if he could find means in the colony and would give the company half the 
booty he should acquire : upon which answer he observes, that except some little corn, 
he would not give twenty pounds for all the booty to be made from the savages for 20 
years. The colonists, although they could not be soon again lulled to their former se- 
curity, speedily recovered from their recent panic, and on July of the same year sallied 



46 OUTLLNE HISTORY. 

forth with three hundred men to seize the corn and inflict other punishment on the 
Indians. But they suffered themselves to be deceived by false pretences until the corn 
was removed from their reach, so that they got but little ; they succeeded, however, in 
burning many of their villages and destroying much of their property, by which they 
said they were likely to suffer much during the ensuing winter. We find that a law 
was passed on the following session, by the General Assembly, requiring that on the 
beginning of July next, the inhabitants of every corporation should fall upon the adjoin- 
ing savages, as had been done the last year ; and enacting that those who were hurt 
should be cured at the pubhc charge, and such as were maimed should be maintained 
by the country, according to their quality. We find it also further enacted in 1630, 
" that the war begun upon the Indians be effectually followed, and that no peace be 
concluded with them ; and that all expeditions undertaken against them should be pros- 
ecuted with diligence." This state of fierce warfare continued to rage with uninterrupted 
fury until a peace was concluded in 1632, under the administration of Gov. Harvey. 
In the course of this warfare the Indians were not treated with the same tenderness with 
which they had generally been before the massacre, but their habitations, cleared lands, 
and pleasant sites, when once taken possession of, were generally retained by the victors, 
and the vanquished forced to take refuge in the woods and marshes. 

While these events were transpiring in the colony, an important 
,onq change in the character of their government was about to 
take place in England. The company had been unsuccess- 
ful : the fact could no longer be denied. They had transported 
more than nine thousand persons, at an expense exceeding a hun- 
dred thousand pounds ; and yet, in nearly 18 years, there were only 
about two thousand persons in the colony, and its annual exports 
did not exceed twenty thousand pounds in value. The king took 
advantage of the present unfortunate state of affairs, to push his 
plans for the dissolution of the company. He carefully fomented 
the dissensions which arose, and encouraged the weaker party, 
which readil)^ sought the aid of his powerful arm. He had long 
disliked the democratic freedom of their discussions, and had of late 
become envious of their little profits on the trade of the colonists, 
which he felt every disposition to divert into his own coffers ; and he 
determined to make good use of the present state of despondency 
in most of the company, and unpopularity with the public, to effect 
his designs. Wishing, hovA^ever, to gain his end by stealth, and 
^ono secret influence with their officers, rather than by open vio- 
lence, he again tried his strength in the nomination of four 
individuals from whom the company w^ere to choose their treasurer. 
But he was again signally defeated, and the Earl of Southampton 
re-elected by a large majority, the king's candidates receiving only 
eight votes in seventy. 

Failing in this, it was manifest that the company was not to be 
browbeaten into submission to his dictation, and he only considered 
how the charter of the company might be revoked, with the least 
violation to the laws of England. To effect this with plausible 
decency some allegation of improper conduct was to be made, and 
some proof ferreted out. The first of these objects was effected 
by two long petitions by members of the royal faction in the 
company, setting forth at full length every evil which had accrued 
to the colony, from its earliest establishment to that hour, and 
charging all upon the mismanagement of the company. For 
many of these charges there was too much truth, and the faults of 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 47 

the company could be easily seen after the accidents had happened ; 
but whether they were not necessarily incidental to the situation 
of things in Virginia, or they might have been avoided by the king 
or a corporation diiferently constituted, are questions difficult to 
answer ; but these petitions contained, mingled with these truths, 
a great proportion of glaring falsehood as to the physical and moral 
condition of the colony. They had been prepared and presented 
with great secrecy ; but the companj^ contrived to obtain copies of 
them, and refuted their slanders by the most irrefragable testimony, 
many facts being in the cognizance of the members themselves, 
and others established by the evidence of respectable persons who 
had long resided in Virginia. This mass of evidence was laid 
before the king, in the vain hope that he might be induced to dis- 
regard the petitions ; but part of his object was now gained, the 
charges were made, the next step was to procure a semblance of 
proof: for this purpose, in a few days, in answer to the prayer in 
one of the petitions, he issued a commission, under the great seal, 
to seven persons, to inquire into all matters respecting Virginia, 
from the beginning of its settlement. 

The better to enable these commissioners to conduct their inves- 
tigations, by an order of the privy council, all the records of the 
company, of whatsoever nature, M^ere seized, the deputy treasurer 
was imprisoned, and on the arrival of a ship from Virginia, all the 
papers on board were inspected. 

The report of these commissioners has never transpired, but it 
October 162S ^^^' without doubt, such as the king wished and 
' ' expected ; for by an order in council he made 

known, that having taken into his princely consideration the dis- 
tressed state of Virginia, occasioned by the ill-government of the 
company, he had resolved, by a new charter, to appoint a governor 
and twelve assistants to reside in England ; and a governor and 
twelve assistants to reside in Virginia ; the former to be nominated 
by his majesty in council, the latter to be nominated by the governor 
and assistants in England, and be appointed by the king in council ; 
and that all proceedings should be subject to the royal direction. 
This was a return at one step to the charter of 1606. The com- 
pany was called together to consider upon this arbitrary edict, 
under an alternative similar to the one given to witches upon their 
trial : if they could swim with a heavy weight about their necks, 
they were burned as guilty ; if they sunk and drowned, they were 
acquitted : the king gave the company the privilege of accepting 
his proposition and resigning its charter, or of refusing and having 
the charter annulled. 

The company, which had refused to gratify the kmg in the choice of its officers, was 
less disposed to comply with this suicidal requisition. The astounding order was read 
over three several times before they could convince themselves that their ears informed 
them correctly of its purport. At length the vote was taken, and one hundred and 
tvyelve votes were against the relinquishment, and twenty-six, the precise number of the 
king's faction, in favor of it. The company asked further time for a more deliberate 
decision, as there had not been sufficient notice, few members were present, and it was 



48 OUTLINE HISTOKY, 

one of those matters of importance which could not be decided, by the terms of their 
charter, except at a regular quarterly meeting ; but the council would not listen to the 
proposition, ordering the company to meet again in three days, and give a clear, direct, 
and final answer. In obedience to this order, an extraordinary court was summoned, 
and the question of surrender submitted to their consideration, upon which only nine of 
the seventy present voted in its favor ; an answer was returned that they would defend 
their charter. The knowledge of these proceedings transpiring produced a shock to the 
credit of the company, which palsied for the time the spirit of commercial enterprise ; 
to remedy this evil the privy council declared that the private property of every one 
should be protected, and secured by additional guarantees if necessary ; that they should 
proceed with their regular business ; and all ships bound for Virginia should sail. To 
endeavor to discover something more authentic against the company than his secret 
conclave of commissioners had yet been able to obtain, the king now thought proper to 

t 9a. Ifi-?*? ^^'^^ John Harvey, John Pory, Abraham Piersey, Samuel Matthews, and 

' ■ John Jefferson, as commissioners to Virginia, " To make more particu- 

lar and diligent inquiry touching divers matters, which concerned the state of Virginia ; 
and in order to facilitate this inquiry, the governor and council of Virginia were ordered 
to assist the commissioners, in this scrutiny, by all their knowledge and influence." 

The commissioners early in the ensuing year arrived in the 

1 fi24 '^o-'ony. In all of this controversy between the king and the 

' company, the colony not supposing its chartered rights were 
likely to be violated by either party, and feeling little interest in 
the discussion of rights which belonged entirely to others, and which 
they never supposed they were to possess ; had acted with entire 
neutrality, and cared little whether they were to be under the 
general superintendence of the courts of the company, or a council 
chosen by the king, so long as they could regulate their own affairs 
by their own General Assembly.* 

In such a mood would the commissioners have found the colony 
and General Assembly, had they not procured copies of the two 
slanderous petitions, in spite of all the precautions of the king, and 
the secrecy of his council and commissioners. Although they felt 
little interest in the controversy, they felt great interest in defend- 
ing themselves from defamation, and their country from false and 
malicious representations, well calculated to disparage and depre- 
ciate it in the estimation of those with whom they wished it to 
Feb 20 1 fi24. ^^and fairest. In six days from their meeting they 
' ■ had prepared spirited and able answers to these 

petitions ; declaring in their preamble, " that they, holding it a 
sin against God and their own sufferings, to permit the world to 
be abused with false reports, and to give to vice the reward of 
virtue, — They, in the name of the whole colony of Virginia, in 
their General Assembly met, many of them having been eye-wit- 

* The king and company quarrelled, and, by a mixture of law and force, the latter 
were ousted of all their rights, without retribution, after having expended £100,000 in 
establishing the colony, without the smallest aid from the government. King James 
suspended their powers by proclamation of July 15, 1624, and Charles I. took the 
government into his own hands. Both sides had their partisans in the colony ; but in 
truth the people of the colony in general thought themselves little concerned in the 
dispute. There being three parties interested in these several charters, what passed 
between the first and second it was thought could not affect the third. If the king 
seized on the powers of the company, they only passed into other hands, without in- 
crease or diminution, while the rights of the people remained as they were. Jefferson's 
Notes on Va., p. 132-3. 



OUTLINE HiSTOKr. 49 

hesses and sufferers in those times, had framed, out of their 
duty to their country and love of truth, the following answer 
given to the praises of Sir T. Smith's government, in the said 
declaration." 

They next drafted a petition to the king, which, with a 
letter to the privy council and the other papers, were com- 
mitted to the care of Mr. John Pountis, a member of the coun- 
cil, who was selected to go to England to represent the gen.* 
eral interests of the colony before his majesty and the privy 
council ; and whose expenses were provided for by a tax of 
four pounds of the best merchantable tobacco for every male 
person sixteen years of age, who had been in the country for one 
year. This gentleman unfortunately died on his passage. The 
letter to the privy council marks very strongly the value which 
they set even at that early day upon the right of legislating for 
themselves ; the principal prayer in it being, " that the governors 
may not have absolute power, and that they might still retain the 
liberty of popular assemblies, than which, nothing could more con- 
duce to the public satisfaction and public utility." 

A contest of wits was commenced between the commissioners and the Assembly 
The former, under various pretexts, withheld from the latter a sight of their commission, 
and the other papers with which they had been charged ; and the governor and the 
Assembly thought proper to preserve an equal mystery as to their own proceedings. In 
this dilemma Mr. Pory, who was one of the commissioners, and who had been secretary 
to the company, and discharged from his post for betraying its councils to the earl of 
Warwick, now suborned Edward Sharpless, a clerk of the council, to give him copies 
of the proceedings of that body and of the Assembly. This treachery was discovered, 
and the clerk was punished with the loss of his ears ; while an account was sent home 
to the company, expressive of the greatest abhorrence at the baseness and treachery of 
Pory. The commissioners finding their secret manoeuvring defeated, next endeavored, 
by the most artful wheedling, to induce the Assembly to petition the crown for a revo- 
cation of the charter. In reply to this the Assembly asked for their authority to make 
such a proposition, which of course they could not give without betraying their secret 
instructions, and were compelled to answer the requisition in general terms and profes- 
sions. The Assembly took no farther notice of the commissioners, but proceeded with 
their ordinary legislation. 

Thirty-five acts of this Assembly have been preserved to the present time, and exhibit, 
with great strength, the propriety and good sense with which men can pass laws for the re* 
gulation of their own interests and concerns. One of these acts establishes at once, in the 
most simple and intelligible language, the great right of exemption from taxation without 
representation ; it runs in these words : — " The governor shall not lay any taxes or impo- 
sitions upon the colony, their lands or commodities, other way than by the authority of 
the General Assembly, to be levied and employed as the said Assembly shall appoint." 
By a subsequent act it was declared that the governor should not withdraw the inhabitants 
from their private labors to any service of his own, upon any color whatsoever and in case 
the public service required the employment of many hands, before the holding of a General 
Assembly, he was to order it, and the levy of men was to be made by the governor and 
whole body of the council, in such manner as would be least burdensome to the people 
and most free from partiality. To encourage good conduct, the old planters who had 
been in the colony since the last arrival of Gates, were exempted from taxation or mili- 
tary duty. Many acts of general utility were passed ; the members of the Assembly 
were privileged from arrest ; lands were to be surveyed and their boundaries recorded, 
which is no doubt the origin of our highly beneficial recording statutes ; vessels arriving 
were prohibited from breaking their cargoes until they had reported themselves ; inspec- 
tors of tobacco were established in every settlement ; the use of sealed weights and 
measures was enforced ; provision was made for paying the public debt, " brought on by 
the late troubles ;" no person was, upon the rumor of supposed change and alteration, to 

7 



50 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

presume to be disobedient to the present government, or servants to their private ofScers, 
masters, or overseers, at their uttermost perils. 

Wise regulations were likewise made to prevent surprises by the Indians ; every house 
was to be fortified with palisadoes ; no man should go or send abroad without a party 
suflBciently armed, or to work without their arms, with a sentinel over them ; the inhabi- 
tants were forbidden to go aboard ships or elsewhere in such numbers as to endanger the 
safety of their plantations ; every planter was to take care to have sufficient arms and 
ammunition in good order ; watch was to be kept by night ; and no planter was to suffer 
powder to be expended in amusement or entertainments. To promote corn-planting, 
and ensure plenty of provision, no limit was fixed to its price ; viewers were appointed 
to see that every man planted a sufficiency for his family, and all trade with the savages 
for corn was strictly prohibited. 

Having thus given a specimen of colonial spirit, and colonial 
legislation, we return to the little intrigues of James, w^ho was 
striving by every means in his power to become possessed of the 
control of the colony ; partly to gratify his love of arbitrary author- 
ity and of money, and partly to gratify his royal self-complacency, 
by framing a code of laws for a people with whose character and 
condition he was utterly unacquainted, and who, from the speci- 
mens recently given, appeared to be fully competent to the man- 
agement of their own affairs, without the dictation or advice of 
this royal guardian ; who, while he displayed the craft without 
the talent of a Philip, aspired to the character of a Solon. The 
recent acts of the king led to a solemn council of the company on 
the state of their affairs, in which they confirmed by an overwhelm- 
ing majority the previous determination to defend their charter, 
and asked for a restitution of their papers for the purpose of pre- 
paring their defence. This request was pronounced reasonable 
by the attorney-general, and complied with. While these papers 
were in the hands of the company, they were transcribed, and the 
copy has been fortunately preserved, and presents a faithful record 
of many portions of Virginia history, which it would be otherwise 
impossible to elucidate.* 

The king had caused a quo warranto to be issued against the 
N in ifi94 company soon after the appointment of his com- 
' ' missioners to go to Virginia, and the cause was 

tried in the King's Bench, in Trinity Term of 1624. A cause 
which their royal master had so much at heart could not long be 
doubtful with judges entirely dependent upon his will for their 
places ; it is even credibly reported that this important case, 
whereby the rights of a powerful corporation were divested, and 
the possibility of a remuneration for all of their trouble and 
expense forever cut off, was decided upon a mere technical ques- 
tion of special pleading !f 

* Burke, p. 274-5. Stith compiled his history principally from these documents. 

+ Note to Bancroft, p. 207. Stith, p. 329, 330, doubts if judgment was passed. 
The doubt may be removed. " Before the end of the same term, a judgment was de- 
clared by the Lord Chief Justice Ley, against the company and their charter, only upon 
failer or mistake in pleading." See a Short Collection of the most Remarkable Pas. 
sages from the Original to the Dissolution of the Virginia Company : London, 1651, 
p. 15. See also Hazard, vol. I. p. 19 ; Chalmers, p. 62 ; Proud's Pennsylvania, vol. 
I., p. 107. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 51 

In the mean time the commissioners had returned, and reported 
very favorably of the soil and climate of Virginia, but censuring 
deeply the conduct of the company, — recommending the govern- 
ment of the original charter of 1606, and declaring that a body so 
large and so democratic in its forms as the company, could never 
persevere in a consistent course of policy, but must veer about as the 
different factions should prevail. In this it must be admitted that 
there was much truth, and all hopes of profit having for some time 
expired, and the company only being kept up by the distinguished 
men of its members, from patriotic motives and as an instrument 
of power for thwarting the king, in which capacity its present 
unpopularity rendered it of little use — it was now suffered to 
expire under the judicial edict, without a groan. The expiration 
of the charter brought little immediate change to the actual gov- 
ernment of the colony : — a large committee was formed by the 
king, consisting principally of his privy council, to discharge the 
functions of the extinct company ; Sir Francis Wyatt was reap- 
pointed governor, and he and his council only empowered to 
gt^vern " as fully and amply as any governor and council resident 
there, at any time within the space of five years last past" — 
which was the exact period of their representative government. 
The king, in appointing the council in Virginia, refused to appoint 
embittered partisans of the court faction, but formed the govern- 
ment of men of moderation. 

So leaving Virginia free, while his royal highness is graciously 
pleased to gratify his own vanity in preparing a new code of laws 
to regulate her affairs, we pass on to a new chapter. 



CHAPTER IV. 



PROGRESS OF THE COLONY FROM THE DISSOLUTION OF THE LONDON COMPANY, 
TO THE BREAKING OUT OF BACOn's REBELLION IN 1675. 

Accession of Charles I. — Tobacco trade. — Yeardley governor — his commission favora- 
ble — his death and character. — Lord Baltimore's reception. — State of religion — legis- 
lation upon the subject. — Invitation to the Puritans to settle on Delaware Bay. — 
Harvey governor. — Grant of Carolina and Maryland. — Harvey deposed — restored. — 
Wyatt governor. — Acts of the Legislature improperly censured. — Berkeley governor. 
— Indian relations. — Opechancanough prisoner — his death. — Change of government 
in England. — Fleet and army sent to reduce Virginia. — Preparation for defence by 
Berkeley. — Agreement entered into between the colony and the commissioners of the 
commonwealth. — Indian hostilities. — Matthews elected governor. — Difficulties between 
the governor and the legislature — adjusted. — State of the colony and its trade. — Com- 
missioners sent to England. — The Restoration. — General legislation. 

The dissolution of the London Company was soon followed by 
M h o<y lAOp; *^® death of James, and the accession of his son, 
marcn ^ /, mzb. (^^^^i^^ j ^j^g ^^^^ troubled himself little about 

the political rights and privileges of the colony, and suffered them 



52 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

to grow to the strength of established usage by his wholesome 
neglect; while he was employed in obtaining a monopoly of their 
tobacco. This valuable article, the use of which extended with 
such unaccountable rapidity, had early attracted the avidity of 
King James. The 19th article of the charter of 1609 had exempted 
the company, their agents, factors, and assignees, from the pay- 
ment of all subsidies and customs in Virginia for the spacf- of one 
and twenty years, and from all taxes and impositions forever, upon 
any goods imported thither, or exported thence into any of the 
realms or dominions of England ; except the five per cent, usual 
by the ancient trade of merchants. But notwithstanding the ex- 
press words of this charter, a tax was laid by the farmers of the 
customs, in the year 1620, upon the tobacco of the eolony ; which 
was not only high of itself, but the more oppressive because it laid 
the same tax upon Virginia and Spanish tobacco, when the latter 
sold in the market for three times the price of the former. In the 
same year the same prince was guilty of another violation of the 
charter, in forcing the company to bring all of their tobacco into 
England ; when he found that a portion of their trade had been 
diverted into Holland, and establishments made at Middleburg 
and Flushing. The charters all guarantied to the colony all of 
the rights, privileges, franchises, and immunities of native born 
Englishmen, and this act of usurpation was the first attempt on 
the part of the mother country to monopolize the trade of the 
colony. The next year the king, either his avidity being unsatis- 
fied, or not liking the usurped and precarious tenure by which his 
gains were held, inveigled the Virginia and Somer Isles com- 
pany into an arrangement, by which they were to become the sole 
importers of tobacco ; being bound, however, to import not less 
than forty nor more than sixty thousand pounds of Spanish vari- 
nas, and paying to the king, in addition to the sixpence duty be- 
fore paid, one-third part of all the tobacco landed in the realms. 
The king, on his part, was to prohibit all other importation and all 
planting in England and Ireland ; and that which was already 
planted was to be confiscated. 

When the company petitioned parliament to prolong its existence, 
in opposition to the efforts of the king, they failed — but that por- 
tion of their petition, which asked for the exclusive monopoly of 
9 9q ifl94. tobacco to Virginia and the Somer Isles, was grant- 
bep. ^y, 15^4. ^^^ ^^^ ^ royal proclamation issued accordingly. 
Whether this exclusiveness was understood with the limitation in 
the previous contract between the king and the two companies, it 
is impossible to say, as the original documents are not accessible 
to the writer.* But the probabilities are greatly against the 
limitation. 

Charles had not been long on the throne before he issued a 



* Burke, I. 291, and Bancroft, I. 206— quoting Stith, Cobbett's Parliament. Hist, 
and Hazard. 



OUTIJXE HISTORY. 



A "1 Q ifi9Pi proclamation, confirming the exclusive privileges 
Apri , ^5. ^^ ^YyQ Virginia and Somer Isles tobacco ; and pro- 
hibiting a violation of their monopoly, under penalty of censure by 
the dread star-chamber. This was soon followed by another, in 
which he carefully set forth the forfeiture of their charter by the 
company, and the immediate dependence of the colony upon the 
crown ; concluding by a plain intimation of his intention to become 
their sole factor. 

Soon after this, a rumor reached the colonies that an individual 
was in treaty with the king for an exclusive contract for tobacco ; 
one of the conditions of which would have led to the importation 
of so large an amount of Spanish tobacco, as would have driven 
that of the colonists from the market. The earnest representations 
of the colony on this subject caused an abandonment of the scheme ; 
but in return, the colony was obliged to excuse itself from a charge 
of trade with the Low Countries, and promise to trade only with 
England. But the king's eagerness for the possession of this 
monopoly was not to be baffled thus. He made a formal proposi- 
tion to the colony for their exclusive trade, in much the same 
language as one tradesman would use to another ; and desired 
that the General Assembly might be convened for the purpose of 
M 2fi lfi2S considering his proposition. The answer by the 
' ' General Assembly to this proposition is preserved. 
It sets forth in strong, but respectful language the injury which 
had been done the planters, by the mere report of an intention to 
subject their trade to a monopoly : they state the reasons for not 
engaging in the production of the other staples mentioned by the 
king ; and dissent from his proposition as to the purchase of their 
tobacco ; demanding a higher price and better terms of admission, 
in exchange for the exclusive monopoly which he wished. 

In the mean time, the death of his father rendered it necessary 
1 fi2fi ^^^ ^^^ Francis Wyatt to return to Europe, to attend to his 
private affairs ; and the king appointed Sir George Yeard- 
ley his successor. This was itself a sufficient guarantee of the 
political privileges of the colony ; as he had had the honor of calling 
the first colonial assembly. But in addition to this, his powers: 
were, like those of his predecessor, limited to the executive au-r 
thority exercised by the governor within five years last past. These 
circumstances taken in connection with the express sanction 
given by Charles to the power of a legislative assembly, with re^ 
gard to his proffered contract for tobacco, sufficiently prove that 
he had no design of interfering with the highly prized privilege of 
self-government enjoyed by the colonists : and fully justifies the 
General Assembly in putting the most favorable construction upon 
the king's ambiguous words, announcing his determination to pre- 
serve inviolate all the "former interests" of Virginia, which occur 
in his letter of 1627. 

Thus were those free principles established in Virginia, for 
which the mother country had to struggle for some time longer. 



54 OUTLI>fE HISTORY. 

The colony rose in the estimation of the public, and a thousand new 
emigrants arrived in one year; which of course much enhanced 
the price of provision. 

Death now closed the career of Yeardley. The character of his 
IV 14 ifi97 administration is exhibited in the history of the colony; 

°^* ' ■ and the estimate placed upon his character by those 
who were best acquainted with his conduct, and who were little 
disposed to flatter undeservedly either the living or the dead, is to 
be found in a eulogy written by the government of Virginia to the 
privy council, announcing his death. In obedience to the king's 
commission to the council, they elected Francis West governor, 
the day after the burial of Yeardley. He held the commission 
until the 5th of March, 1628, when, designing to sail for England, 
John Pott was chosen to succeed him. Pott did not continue 
long in office, for the king, when the death of Yeardley was known, 
issued his commission to Sir John Harvey, who arrived some time 
between October, 1628, and March, 1629. 

In the interval between the death of Yeardley and the arrival of Harvey, occurred the 
first act of religious intolerance which defiles the annals of Virginia. 

Lord Baltimore, a Catholic nobleman, allured by the rising reputation of the colony, 
abandoned his settlement in Newfoundland and came to Virginia ; where, instead of be- 
ing received with the cheerful welcome of a friend and a brother, he was greeted with 
the oath of allegiance and supremacy; the latter of which, it was well known, his 
conscience would not allow him to take. 

Much allowance is to be made for this trespass upon religious freedom before we at- 
tribute it to a wilful violation of natural liberty. The times and circumstances ought to 
be considered. The colony had grown into life while the violent struggles between the 
Romish and Protestant churches were yet rife. The ancient tyranny and oppression 
of the Holy See were yet fresh in the memory of all ; its cruelties and harsh intolerance 
in England were recent ; and yet continuing in the countries in which its votaries had 
the control of the civil government. The light of Protestantism itself was the first 
dawn of religious freedom ; and the thraldom in which mankind had been held by 
Catholic fetters for so many ages, was too terrible to risk the possibility of their ac- 
quiring any authority in government. Eye-witnesses of the severities of Mary were 
yet alive in England, and doubtless many of the colonists had heard fearful relations of 
the religious sufferings during her reign, probably some had suffered in their own families : 
most of them had emigrated while the excitement against the Papists was still raging 
in England with its greatest fury, and continually kept in action by the discovery, or 
pretended discovery, of Popish plots to obtain possession of the government. Was it 
wonderful, then, that a colony which, with a remarkable uniformity of sentiment, pro- 
fessed a different religion, should be jealous of a faith which sought by every means in 
its power to obtain supreme control, and used that control for the extermination, by the 
harshest means, of all other creeds ? 

The colony in Virginia was planted when the incestuous and monstrous connection 
of church and state had not been severed in any civilized country on the globe ; at a 
period when it would have been heresy to attempt such a divorce, because it required 
all the aid of the civil power to give men sufficient freedom to " profess, and by argu- 
ment to maintain," any other creed than one — and that one the creed of Rome. The 
anxiety of the British government upon this subject, so far from being unnatural, was 
highly laudable, since all its efforts were necessary to sustain its new-born power of 
professing its own creed. The awful effect of Catholic supremacy, displayed in a 
neighboring kingdom, afforded a warning too terrible* to be easily forgotten ; and it 
would have been as unwise to allow the Catholics equal civil privileges at that day, as 
it would be impolitic and unjust now to exclude them. We find this regard for religious 

* The massacre of the Protestants by the Catholics on St. Bartholomew's day, in 
France, in 1572. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 55 

freedom, (for emancipation from the Pope's authority was a great step in religious free- 
dom,) carefully fostered in the colonies. Every charter requires the establishment of 
the church of England, and authorizes the infliction of punishment for drawing off the 
people from their religion, as a matter of equal importance with their allegiance. For 
at that period, before any important differences between the Protestants had arisen, 
when but two religions were struggling for existence, not to be of the church of England 
was to be a Papist, and not to acknowledge the secular supremacy of the king, was to bow 
to the authority of the pope. The Catholics, as the only subject of terror, were the only 
subjects of intolerance ; no sufiicient number of dissenters had availed themselves of 
the great example of Protestantism, in rejecting any creed which did not precisely sat- 
isfy their consciences, to become formidable to mother church ; nor had she grown so 
strong and haughty in her new-fledged power, as to level her blows at any but her first 
great antagonist.* 

The colony in Virginia consisted of church of England men ; and 
many of the first acts of their legislature relate to provision for the 
church. Glebe lands were early laid off, and livings provided. The 
ministers were considered not as pious and charitable individuals, but 
as officers of the state, bound to promote the true faith and sound 
morality, by authority of the community by which they were paid, 
and to which they were held responsible for the performance of their 
duty. The very first act of Assembly which was passed, required 
that in every settlement in which the people met to worship God, 
a house should be appropriated exclusively to that purpose, and 
a place paled in to be used solely as a burying-ground ; the second 
act imposed a penalty of a pound of tobacco for absence from 
divine service on Sunday, without sufficient excuse, and fifty 
pounds for a month's absence ; the third, required uniformity, as 
nearly as might be, with the canons in England ; the fourth, en- 
joined the observance of the holy days, (adding the 22d of March, 
the day of the Massacre, to the number,) dispensing with some, 
" by reason of our necessities ;" the fifth, punished any minister 
absenting himself from his church above two months in the year, 
with forfeiture of half his estate — and four months, his whole estate 
and curacy ; the sixth, punished disparagement of a minister ; the 
seventh, prohibited any man from disposing of his tobacco or 
corn, until the minister's portion was first paid. This sacred duty 
discharged, the Assembly next enact salutary regulations for the 
state. We find at the session of 1629, the act requiring attend- 
ance at church on the Sabbath, specially enforced, and a clause 
added, forbidding profanation of that day by travelling or work ; 
also an act, declaring that all those who work in the ground shall 
pay tithes to the minister. We find requisition of uniformity with 
the canons of the English church not only repeated, in every new 
commission from England, but re-enacted by the legislature of 
1629-30, and in 1631-32, as well as in the several revisals of the 

* The persecution of the Puritans was an exception to this. They were persecuted 
with considerable rigor, but their numbers were small, consisting only of two churches, 
and most of those who then existed went to Holland with their leaders, John Robinson 
and William Brewster, in 1607 and 8, and settled in Amsterdam, whence they removed 
to Leyden in 1609, whence they sailed to America in 1620, and landed in Cape Cod 
Harbor on the 7th of November, and settled Plymouth on the 31st of December follow 
ing.— Holmes' Am. An. 156-203, 



56 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

laws. In the acts of 1631-32, we find many acts conveying the 
idea advanced of ministers being considered public officers ; and 
churchwardens required to take an oath, to present offences 
against decency or morality, which made them in effect censors 
of the public morals. In these acts, it is made the duty of minis- 
ters to teach children the Lord's prayer, commandments, and the 
articles of faith ; also to attend all persons dangerously sick, to 
instruct and comfort them in their distress ; to keep registers of 
christening, marriages, and deaths ; and to preserve in themselves 
strict moral conduct, as an advancement to religion and an ex- 
ample to others. We find, also, frequent acts passed providing for 
the payment of ministers, until the session of 1657-58, when 
church and state seem to have been effectually divorced ; for, 
though no act of religious freedom was passed, but all were still 
expected, rather than compelled, to conform to the church of Eng- 
land, yet the compulsory payment of ministers was abandoned, 
and all matters relating to the church were left entirely to the 
control of the people. 

From the review which we have given of the religious condi- 
tion of England and the colony, it must be manifest that the ten- 
der of the oath of supremacy to Lord Baltimore, was not only a 
religious but a civil duty in the council, which they could by no 
means have omitted, without a violation of their own oaths, laws, 
and charters. But if any further proof were necessary, to show 
that it flowed from this source, and not from a disposition to reli- 
gious intolerance — it is aftbrded by the liberal invitation given in 
the instructions to Captain Bass to the Puritans, who had settled at 
New Plymouth, to desert their cold and barren soil, and come and 
settle upon Delaware Bay, which was in the limits of Virginia. 

Harvey met his first General Assembly in March, and its acts, 
1 fi2q ^^ those of several succeeding sessions, only consist of the 
usual business acts of the colony. We have now ap- 
proached a period in our history, upon which the few scattered 
and glimmering lights which exist, have rather served to mislead 
than to guide historians. It is a period replete with charges made 
by historians, of the most heinous character, against the governor, 
with no evidence upon record to support them. The truth is, that 
Sir John Harvey was deposed and sent home by the colony for 
some improper conduct : but what that was, does not fully appear, 
and historians seem to have thought it their duty to supply the 
defect in the record, by abusing his administration as arbitrary and 
tyrannical from the first : the charge is without evidence, and 
every probability is against its truth. During the whole of his 
administration, the General Assembly met and transacted their 
business as usual. The fundamental laws which they had passed, 
to which we have before referred, restraining the powers of the 
governor, and asserting the powers of the Assembly, were passed 
again as of course. There could manifestly be no oppression from 
this source. The General Assembly ordered the building of forts, 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 57 

made the contracts, provided the payments, provided garrisons and 
soldiers for the field vrhen necessary, and disbanded them vv^hen 
the occasion for their services had ceased. The Assembly and the 
soldiers were planters, and they could be little disposed to oppress 
themselves, their families and friends. The only evidence w^hich 
exists against Harvey, is the fact of his being deposed, and sent 
home wath commissioners to complain of his conduct to the king ; 
but this did not occur until 1635, after the extensive grants had 
been made to Lord Baltimore and others, vv^hich dismembered the 
colony, and w-ere so displeasing to the planters ; and we shall see 
that aid or connivance in these grants were the probable causes 
of Harvey's unpopularity. 

The first act of tyranny towards the colony which we find re- 
corded against Charles, was his grant in 1630 to Sir Robert Heath 
of a large portion of the lands of the colony — commencing at the 
36th degree of latitude, and including the whole southern portion 
of the United States, under the name of Carolina. But as this 
country was not settled until long afterwards, and the charter be- 
came void by non-compliance with its terms, it could not be re- 
garded as injurious by the colony, except as an evidence of the 
facility with which their chartered rights could be divested. An- 
16S2 ^'^^^r instance of a more objectionable character soon oc- 
curred. Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore, obtained a grant 
of that portion of Virginia which is now included in the state of 
Maryland, and immediately commenced a settlement upon it, not- 
withstanding the value which the Virginians set upon it, and their 
having actually made settlements within its limits. William 
Claiborne, who had been a member of the council, and secretary 
of state for Virginia, had obtained a license from the king to 
" traffic in those parts of America w^here there was no license," 
which had been confirmed by Harvey. In pursuance of this au- 
thority he had settled himself at Kent Island, near the city of An- 
napolis, and seemed by no means inclined tamely to relinquish his 
possessions. He resisted the encroachments of Maryland by force. 
This was the first controversy between the whites which ever took 
place on the waters of the Chesapeake. Claiborne was indicted, 
and found of guilty of murder, piracy, and sedition ; and to escape 
punishment he fled to Virginia. When the Maryland commission- 
ers demanded him, Harvey refused to give him up, but sent him to 
England to be tried. It is highly probable that the conduct of 
Harvey in giving up instead of protecting Claiborne, incensed the 
colony against him ; for they clearly thought the Maryland charter 
an infringement of their rights, and they were little inclined to 
submit to imposition from any quarter. 

The account which we have of the trial of Harvey is extremely 
meager, detailing neither the accusations nor the evidence, but 
only the fact. The manner of proceeding, however, as it appears 
on the record, is as little like that of an enslaved people, as it is 
like a " transport of popular rage and indignation." The whole 

8 



58 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

matter seems to have been conducted with calm deliberation, as a 
free people acting upon the conduct of an unworthy servant. The 
first entry upon the subject runs thus : " An assembly to be called 
to receive complaints against Sir John Harvey, on the petition of 
many inhabitants, to meet 7th of May." Could as much coolness, 
deliberation, and publicity be given to action against a tyrant who 
had already trodden liberty under foot ? or is a transport of popu- 
lar rage so slow in action ? The next entry upon this subject is 
the following: "On the 28th of April, 1635, Sir John Harvey 
thrust out of his government, and Capt. John West acts as gover- 
nor, till the king's pleasure known." It appears that before the 
Assembly met which was to have heard complaints against Har- 
vey, he agreed in council to go to England to answer them ; and 
upon that. West was elected governor. 

How long West governed is uncertain ; but it appears by a 
paper among the records, that Harvey was governor again in Jan- 
uary, 1636. It appears that Charles regarded the conduct of the 
colony as an unwarrantable piece of insolence, little short of trea- 
son, and would not even hear them, lest the spectacle of so noble 
an example might inflame the growing discontents in his own 
kingdom, which finally rose to such a pitch, as not only to take the 
same unwarrantable liberty of deposing him, but even laid violent 
hands upon his sacred person. He accordingly sent the commis- 
sioners home with their grievances untold, and Harvey was rein- 
stated in his power without undergoing even a trial. The conduct 
of the colony appears to have been a salutary lesson to him, and 
he probably feared that for the next offence they would take 
justice into their own hands ; for we hear no complaints of him 
during his administration, which expired in November, 1639. Sir 
Francis Wyatt succeeded him. 

In 1634 the colony was divided into eight shires,* which were 
to be governed as the shires in England: lieutenants were to be 
appointed in the same manner as in England, and it was their 
especial duty to pay attention to the war against the Indians. 
Sheriffs, sergeants, and bailiflfs, were also to be elected as in Eng- 
land. In 1628-9 commissions were issued to hold monthly courts 
in the different settlements, which was the origin of our county 
court system. 

At the first assembly which was held after the return of Wyatt, 
several acts were passed, which, from the inattention of historians 
to the circumstances of the times, have received universal repro- 
bation, but which, when properly considered, will be found to be 
marked with great shrewdness, and dictated by the soundest 
policy. 

The act declares that, " tobacco by reason of excessive quantities being made, being 
so low, that the planters could not subsist by it, or be enabled to raise more staple com- 

* Viz., James City, Henrico, Charles City, Elizabeth City, Warwick- River, Warros 
quoyoke, Charles River, and Accomack. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 59 

modities, or pay their debts : therefore it was enacted, that the tobacco of that year be 
viewed by sworn viewers, and the rotten and unmerchantable, and half the good, to be 
burned. So the whole quantity made would come to 1,500,000 lbs., without stripping and 
smoothing ; and the next two years 170 lbs. tobacco per poll, stripped and smoothed, was 
to be made, which would make, in the whole, about 1,300,000 lbs., and all creditors 
were to take 40 lbs. for a hundred." By a second act, it was declared that " no man 
should be obliged to perform above half his covenants about freighting tobacco in 1639." 
Nothing could be more absurd than such acts at the present day, and hence they have 
been pronounced absurd at that time. But let us look to the circumstances. Except 
the little tobacco made in the Somer Isles, Virginia at that time had the monopoly of 
the English market. The taste for tobacco was new, existed with few, and could not 
be suddenly extended ; consequently the consumption could not be increased in propor- 
tion to the increase of supply, but those who used it would obtain it at a price propor. 
tionably less. Thus a superabundant supply so glutted the market as to reduce the 
article to a price ruinous to the planters. On the other hand, with those who had 
acquired a taste for tobacco, it was nearly indispensable, and if less than a usual crop 
was made, the demand enhanced the value of the remainder beyond that of the full 
crop ; hence the propriety of burning half of the good tobacco. This seems to have 
been perceived, and we have seen no fault found with the first portion of the act ; but 
the latter part, forcing creditors to take less than their full dues, has been pronounced 
flagrantly unjust. But if this had not been done, what would have been the condition 
of the planter ? If he had made a hundred pounds, and owed fifty, the burning and 
his creditor would deprive him of his whole crop, while the creditor receiving the fifty 
pounds at its enhanced value, would receive more than double what was due him. This 
would have been highly oppressive to the debtor, and made the whole act redound en- 
tirely to the benefit of the creditor. Whereas, making him take forty pounds in the 
hundred, when that forty was enhanced to more than the value of the hundred, was no 
hardship. 

In the early stages of the colony, the planters wanted the comforts of life from Eng- 
land, and not money, for money could purchase nothing in America. It would have been 
wasteful extravagance to have brought it. The Virginians had but one article of export, 
— all trading vessels came for tobacco, — hence that would purchase every thing, and 
became, on that account, useful to every man, and an article of universal desire, as 
money is in other countries, and hence the standard of value and circulating medium of 
the colony. We find, when money first began to be introduced, as the keeping accounts 
in tobacco was inconvenient to the foreign merchants who came to trade, an act was 
passed with the following preamble : — " Whereas it hath been the usual custom of 
merchants and others dealing intermutually in this colony, to make all bargains, con- 
tracts, and to keep all accounts in tobacco, and not in money," &c. It then goes on to enact 
that in future they should be kept in money, and that in all pleas and actions the value 
should be represented in money. This was in 1633. But it was found so inconvenient 
to represent value by an arbitrary standard, the representative of which did not exist in 
the colony, that another act was passed in January, 1641, declaring that, — " Whereas 
many and great inconveniences do daily arise by dealing for money. Be it enacted and 
confirmed by the authority of this present Grand Assembly, that all money-debts made 
since the 26th day of March, 1642, or which hereafter shall be made, shall not be 
pleadable or recoverable in any court of justice under this government." An exception 
was afterwards made in 1642-3, in favor of debts contracted for horses or sheep, but 
money-debts generally were not even made recoverable again until 1656. We thus see 
that tobacco was the currency, and an excess as injurious as an over-issue of bank-paper, 
depreciating itself in the market, or, in common parlance, causing every thing to rise 
We see, moreover, the cause of the excessive care taken in burning bad tobacco, since 
that was as important to the uniformity of their currency as the exclusion of counter- 
feits in a money currency. All the viewings, censorships, inspections, regulations of the 
amount to be cultivated by each planter, each hand, — the quantity to be gathered from 
each plant, — the regulations prescribed as to curing it, — are to be regarded more as mint 
regulations than as regulations of agricultural industry. Indeed, we find the attempt 
to sell or pay bad tobacco, is made a crime precisely as it is now to sell or pay counter- 
feit money. This act of Assembly then allowed debtors to discharge themselves by 
paying half their debts in amount, did, in effect, make them pay all in value, and can 
by no means be compared to the acts of states or princes in debasing the coin, and 
allowing it to retain its old nominal value, or by introducing valueless paper money ; in 
these cases, the debt is paid nominally, or in words, but not in value, whereas in Vir. 



60 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

ginia it was not paid nominally, as it had been contracted for so many pounds of 
tobacco, but it was paid in fewer pounds, rendered of greater actual value than the 
debt would have amounted to if paid in pounds before the burning of half the quantity 
made. 

Wyatt remained governor only for one year and a few months, 
when he was succeeded by Sir William Berkeley. Historians who 
have not been aware of the intermediate administration of Wyatt 
and have heard no complaint of Berkeley, have delighted to deck 
his character in the gayest colors, in contrast to the black charac- 
ter which they have drawn of Harvey. There can be no doubt 
that he was esteemed an accomplished and chivalric gentleman ; 
but his accession brought no increase of political freedom to Vir- 
ginia, and his commission did not differ from those of his prede- 
cessors. On the contrary, the instructions which he brought, so 
far from granting new franchises, imposed new, severe, and un- 
warrantable restrictions on the liberty of trade ; England claiming 
that monopoly of colonial commerce, which was ultimately enforc- 
ed by the navigation act, and which was a perpetual source of 
contention, until all differences were finally healed by the revo- 
lution. 

Berkeley arrived in February, 1642 ; an assembly met in March, 
and soon after passed a solemn protest against a petition which 
Sir George Sandys had presented to Parliament for the restoration 
of the company. This paper is drawn with great ability, and sets 
forth the objections to the petition in very strong and striking 
terms. They enlarge especially upon the wish and power of the 
company to monopolize their trade ; the advantages and happiness 
secured to them by their present form of government, with its an- 
nual assemblies and trial by jury ; the fact, that a restitution of the 
power of the company would be an admission of the illegality of 
the king's authority, and a consequent nullification of the grants 
and commissions issued by him ; and the impossibility of men, 
however wise, at such a distance, and unacquainted with the cli- 
mate or condition of the country, to govern the colony as well as 
it could be governed by their own Grand Assembly. The king, in 
reply to this, declared his purpose not to change a form of govern- 
ment in which they received so much content and satisfaction. 

Other important matters were settled at this legislature. A tax for the benefit of the 
governor was abolished. The punishment by condemnation to temporary service was 
abolished, which had existed ever since the foundation of the colony ; and this protec- 
tion to liberty was considered as so important to the Assembly, that they declared it was 
to be considered as a record by the inhabitants of their birthright as Englishmen, and 
that the oppression of the late company was quite extinguished. The governor proba- 
bly received some benefit from these considerations, for he is praised for giving his as- 
sent to an act in which he preferred the public freedom to his particular profit. A near- 
er approach was made to the laws and customs of England in proceedings of courts and 
trials of causes. Better regulations were prescribed for discussing and deciding land 
titles. The bounds of parishes were more accurately marked. A treaty with Mary- 
land, opening the trade of the Chesapeake, was matured ; and peace with the Indians 
confirmed. Taxes were proportioned more to men's estates and abilities than to the 
numbers, by which the poor were much relieved, "but which through the strangeness 
thereof could not but require much time and debating." They published a list of their 
acts in order tp show to the colony that they had not swerved from " the true intent of 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 61 

their happy constitution," which required them to " enact good and wholesome laws, 
and rectify and relieve such disorders and grievances as are incident to all states and re- 
publics ; but that their late consultations would redound greatly to the benefit of the 
colony and their posterity." In the conclusion of that list, they state, that the gracious 
inclination of his majesty, ever ready to protect them, and now more particularly assu- 
red to them, together with the concurrence of a happy Parliament in England, were the 
motives which induced them to take this opportunity to " establish their liberties and 
privileges, and settle their estates, often before assaulted and threatened, and lately inva- 
ded by the corporation ; and to prevent the future designs of monopolizers, contractors, 
and pre-emptors, ever usurping the benefit of their labors ; and they apprehended that no 
time could be misspent, or labor misplaced, in gaining a firm peace to themselves and 
posterity, and a future immunity and ease to themselves from taxes and impositions, 
which they expected to be the fruits of their endeavors." 

The Indians had been driven back, and weakened by a perpet- 
ual succession of hostilities, from the time of the great massacre, 
until the year 1644. During the latter years of this period, we 
have little account of their proceedings, but the rapid increase of 
the settlements had driven them from the rich borders of the 
rivers in the lower country, higher into the interior, and the new 
grants were every day driving them still farther from the homes 
of their fathers. This incessant warfare, while it weakened them 
1 PAd ^^ ^ nation, had increased their cunning and skill in par- 
* tisan warfare. Opechancanough, though now so old that 
he had to be carried in a litter, and so feeble that he could not 
raise his eyelids without assistance, still retained sufficient strength 
of mind to embody a combination of the various tribes under his 
control, and make a sudden and violent attack upon many of the 
frontier settlements at once. Little is known of the circumstances 
attending this second great massacre. An act of Assembly of 
1645, making the eighteenth day of April a holiday and day of 
thanksgiving, for escape from the Indians, marks the period of the 
massacre. Other evidence makes the number of their victims 
three hundred.* The precautions which the whites had been 
taught to take by the previous massacre, in trading with them only 
at particular places, in always going armed, in never admitting 
them to the same familiarity, effectually prevented them, with all 
their caution in approach, and violence of attack, from committing 
as great slaughter as they had upon the former occasion. The 
whites do not seem to have been stricken with a panic now as for- 
merly, but quickly sallied upon their assailants, and drove them 
back so rapidly that their venerable chieftain himself had to be 
deserted by his attendants, and was taken by Sir William Berke- 
ley, at the head of a squadron of light cavalry. He was carried 
to Jamestown, and manifested, in his imprisonment, the same 
haughty dignity which had always distinguished him. He pre- 
served a proud and disdainful silence, and such indifference to the 
passing scenes, that he rarely requested his eyelids to be raised. 
In this melancholy condition, he was basely shot in the back by 
his sentinel, with whom recollection of former injuries overcame 

* Bancroft, p. 224. — Burke, v. II. p. 55, says — on authority of Beverley — " five hun- 
dred." 



62 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

all respect for helpless age, or former greatness. The only subject 
which called forth any show of regret from him was a flash of an- 
gry indignation, at being exposed in his dying hours to the idle and 
curious gaze of his enemies. 

So little regard was now paid to the Indian hostilities, that, on 
the following June, Sir William Berkeley sailed for England, and 
the council elected Richard Kemp to occupy his post until his re- 
turn. In the mean time, the warfare with the Indians continued 
without remission. It appears by an act of the latter part of the 
year 1644, that many of the inhabitants, probably on the frontiers, 
had been collected in large bodies ; but leave was then given them 
to dispose of themselves " for their best advantage and conve- 
aience, provided that in places of danger there should not be less 
than ten men allowed to settle." 

Sir William Berkeley again took possession of his government 
fi f fr ip4f5 iJ^ June, 1645 ; and in the following year a treaty of 
' ' peace was concluded with the Indians, by which 

Necotowance, the successor of Opechancanough, acknowledged 
that he held his kingdom of the crown of England, and agreed 
that his successors should be appointed or confirmed by the king's 
governor ; on the other hand, the Assembly, on behalf of the colo- 
ny, undertook to protect him against rebels and all enemies what- 
soever. In this treaty, the Indians were permitted to dwell on the 
north side of York River, but ceded to the whites all the country 
from the falls of the James and York to the bay, forever ; and any 
Indian coming upon that territory was to suffer death, unless he 
bore the badge of a messenger. The Indians were also to surren- 
der all prisoners, negroes, and arms taken. Other articles were 
added, prescribing the form of intercourse. Thus were the abo- 
rigines at length finally excluded from their father-land, leaving 
no monument of their having existed, save the names of the wa- 
ters and mountains, and the barrows containing the ashes of their 
ancestors.* 

Thus the colony of Virginia acquired the management of all its 
concerns ; war was levied, and peace concluded, and territory ac- 
quired, in conformity to the acts of the representatives of the peo- 
ple ; while the people of the mother country had just acquired 
these privileges, after a long and bloody conflict with their former 
sovereign. Possessed of security and quiet, abundance of land, a 
free market for their staple, and, practically, all the rights of an 
independent state — having England for its guardian against for- 
eign oppression, rather than its ruler — the colonists enjoyed all the 
prosperity which a virgin soil, equal laws, and general uniformity 

* I know of no such thing existing as an Indian monument — of labor on the large 
scale. I think there is no remain as respectable as would be a common ditch for the 
draining of lands ; unless, indeed, it would be the barrows, of which many are to be 
found all over the coinitry. That they were repositories of the dead, has been obvious 
to all ; but on what particular occasion constructed, was a matter of doubt. — Jefferson's 
Notes on Va., p. 132. 



OUTLINE HISTOKY. 63 

of condition and industry, could bestow. Their numbers increased ; 
the cottages were filled with children, as the ports were with ships 
and emigrants. At Christmas, 1648, there were trading in Virginia, 
ten ships from London, two from Bristol, twelve Hollanders, and 
seven from New England. The number of the colonists was al- 
ready twenty thousand, and they, who had sustained no griefs, 
were not tempted to engage in the feuds by which the mother 
country was divided. They were attached to the cause of Charles, 
not because they loved monarchy, but because they cherished the 
IRAQ liberties of which he had left them in the undisturbed pos- 
session ; and after his execution, though there w^ere not 
wanting some who favored republicanism, the government recog- 
nised his son without dispute. 

The loyalty of the Virginians did not escape the attention of 
T iRt^n the royal exile : from his retreat in Breda he trans- 

' ' mitted to Berkeley a new commission, and Charles the 

Second, a fugitive from England, was still the sovereign of Vir- 
ginia. 

But the Parliament did not long permit its authority to be de- 
nied. Having, by the vigorous energy and fearless enthusiasm of 
republicanism, triumphed over all its enemies in Europe, it turned 
its attention to the colonies ; and a memorable ordinance at once 
empowered the council of state to reduce the rebellious colonies to 
obedience, and at the same time established it as a law that for- 
eign ships should not trade at any of the ports " in Barbadoes, 
Antigua, Bermudas, and Virginia." Thus giving the first example 
of that wholesale blockade, afterwards rendered so notorious by 
the celebrated orders in council during the wars of the French 
revolution. Maryland, which was not expressly included in the 
ordinance, had taken care to acknowledge the new order of things ; 
and Massachusetts, alike unwilling to encounter the hostility of 
Parliament, and jealous of the rights of independent legislation, 
by its own enactment, prohibited all intercourse with Virginia till 
the supremacy of the commonwealth should be established, — al- 
though the order, when it was found to be injurious to commerce, 
was promptly repealed, even while royalty still flourished at 
Jamestown. 

A powerful fleet, with a considerable body of land forces on 
board, sent out to bring the colonies to submission, having subdued 
Barbadoes and Antigua, cast anchor before Jamestown. Sir Wil- 
liam Berkeley and his hardy colonists had not been inactive : the 
growing strength of the colony had recently been increased by the 
acquisition of many veteran cavaliers from the king's array, and it 
now presented no contemptible force. Several Dutch ships which 
were lying in the river, and which, as trading contrary to the 
prohibition of Parliament, were armed, to provide against surprise 
by the commonwealth's fleets, were also pressed into service. 
This show of resistance induced the commissioners of Parliament 
to hesitate, before they attempted to reduce the colony to obedience 



64 OUTLINE HISTOHY. 

by force, and to offer them fair and honorable terms of submission. 
The terms offered being such as completely satisfied the Virgini- 
ans that their freedom was to be preserved inviolate, and their 
present happy constitution guarantied, while they were to suffer 
nothing for past conduct, they readily acquiesced, since they gained 
all by such a surrender which they could effect by the most successful 
warfare. It appears that they never anticipated any thing more 
than the preservation of their own liberties from wanton violation 
from the new and untried power which now held the reins of 
government in England, and could scarcely have been mad 
enough to hope to effect any thing favorable to the king by their 
resistance. 

The articles of surrender are concluded between the commissioners of the common- 
wealth, and the council of state and Grand Assembly of Virginia, as equal treating with 
equal. It secures — 

1st. That this should be considered a voluntary act, not forced or constrained by a 
conquest upon the country ; and that the colonists should have and enjoy such freedoms 
and privileges as belong to the freebom people of England. 

2dly. That the Grand Assembly, as formerly, should convene and transact the affairs 
of Virginia, doing nothing contrary to the government of the commonwealth or laws of 
England. 

3dly. That there should be a full and total remission of all acts, words, or writings 
against the Parliament. 

4thly. That Virginia should have her ancient bounds and limits, granted by the char- 
ters of the former kings, and that a new charter was to be sought from Parliament to 
that effect, against such as had trespassed upon their ancient rights. [This clause 
would seem to be aimed at some of the neighboring colonies.] 

5thly. That all patents of land under the seal of the colony, granted by the governor, 
should remain in full force. 

6thly. That the privilege of fifty acres of land for every person emigrating to the 
colony, should remain in full force. 

7thly. That the people of Virginia have free trade, as the people of England enjoy, 
with all places and nations, according to the laws of the commonwealth ; and that 
Virginia should enjoy equal privileges, in every respect, with any other colony in 
America. 

8thly. That Virginia should be free from all taxes, customs, and impositions whatso- 
ever ; and that none should be imposed upon them without the consent of their Grand 
Assembly ; and no forts or castles be erected, or garrison maintained, without their con- 
sent. 

9thly. That no charge should be required from the country on account of the expense 
incurred in the present fleet. 

lOthly. That this agreement should be tendered to all persons, and that such as should 
refuse to subscribe to it, should have a year's time to remove themselves and effects from 
Virginia, and in the mean time enjoy equ.-.l justice. 

The remaining articles were of less importance. This was followed by a supple- 
mental treaty, for the benefit of the governor and council, and such soldiers as had 
served against the commonwealth in England, — allowing them the most favorable 
terms. 

If this was a conquest, happy would it be for most colonies to 
be conquered. Every privilege was secured which could possibly 
be asked, and the liberties of the colony were established more 
thoroughly than they had ever been ; and the conquest was only 
less favorable to Virginia than her declaration of independence, 
by having her rights depending upon the pledged faith of another 
nation, instead of having them entirely under her own control. 
The correspondence between the rights now secured, and the rights 



OUTLINE HISTORY* 65 

mentioned in the Declaration of Independence as violated by the 
British king, is remarkable. 

All matters were thus happily and amicably arranged ; and, as 
Sir William Berkeley was too loyal a subject to be willing to take 
office under Parliament, Richard Bennett, one of the commissioners, 
was elected governor. A council was also elected, with powers 
to act in conformity to the instructions they should receive from the 
Parliament, the known law of England, and the Acts of Assembly, 
and such other powers as the Assembly should think proper from 
time to time to give them. It was declared, at the same session, 
that it was best that officers should be elected by the Burgesses, 
" the representatives of the people ;" and after discussion upon the 
propriety of allowing the governor and council to be members of 
the Assembly, it was determined that they might, by taking the 
same oath which was taken by the Burgesses. The Assembly 
thus having no written constitution as their guide, took upon them- 
selves the office of a convention of the people, and granted or re- 
sumed powers as it might seem best for the good of the country. 

The whites and the remnants of the neighboring Indian tribes 
continued to be upon good terms, and the latter were kindly and 
humanely treated by the guardian care of the Assembly. A slight 
irruption of the Rappahannocks seems to have been soon termi- 
nated. But a new scene in the history of the colony now present- 
ed itself. The Rechahecrians, a fierce and warlike tribe, came 
down from the mountains, and took up a strong position on the 
falls of James River, with six or seven hundred warriors. This 
excited no little uneasiness, as it had been very difficult to extir- 
pate the Indians who had formerly possessed the spot. The first 
expedition against them failed ; a new one was prepared, and 
the subject Indians being called upon for aid, furnished a hundred 
warriors, most of whom, with their chief, Totopotomoi, fell fighting 
gallantly. 

When Bennett retired from office, and the Assembly elected Ed- 
March 31 1655 ^^^^ Digges his successor, the commissioners of 
' ' the commonwealth had little to do with control- 

ling the destinies of Virginia, but were engaged in settling the 
affairs and adjusting the boundaries of Maryland. 

The Assembly reciting the articles of agreement with the com- 
March 13 1658 ™^^^io^6^^ of Parliament, which admitted that 
' * the election of all officers of the colony apper- 

tained to the Burgesses, the representatives of the people pro- 
ceeded to the election of a governor and council until the next 
Assembly ; and the choice fell upon " worthy Samuel Matthews, 
an old planter, of nearly forty years standing,— a most deserving 
commonwealth's man, who kept a good house, lived bravely, and 
was a true lover of Virginia." But this worthy old gentleman 
seems to have conceived higher ideas of his powers than the As- 
sembly was willing to allow. The Assembly had determined not 
to dissolve itself, but only to adjourn until the first of November 

9 



66 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

They then proceeded with their ordinary business, making, how- 
ever, one important change in the constitution, — which was, to 
require that all propositions and laws presented by a committee 
should be first discussed by the House of Burgesses in private, 
before the admission of the governor and council. The governor 
and council, on the first of April, sent a message declaring that 
they thought fit then to dissolve the Assembly, and requiring the 
speaker to dismiss the Burgesses. To this the Assembly returned 
for answer, that the act was illegal, and without precedent, and 
requested a revocation of it, as they expected speedily to finish 
their business. The house then declared, that any member who 
should depart should be censured, as betraying the trust reposed 
in him by his country ; and that the remainder should act in all 
things, and to all intents and purposes, as an entire house ; that 
the speaker should sign nothing without the consent of a majority 
of the house, and that the members should take an oath not to 
disclose the acts or debates of that body. The governor replied 
to the communication from the house, that he was willing that the 
house should conclude its business speedily, and refer the dispute 
as to the legality of his power to dissolve, to the decision of the 
Lord Protector. The house unanimously decided this answer to 
be unsatisfactory, expressed an earnest desire that public business 
might be soon dispatched, and requested the governor and council 
to declare the house undissolved, in order that a speedy period 
might be put to public affairs. In reply to this, the governor and 
council revoked the order of dissolution, upon their promise of a 
speedy conclusion, and again referred the matter of disputed right 
to the Lord Protector. The house, still unsatisfied with this an- 
swer, appointed a committee to draw up a report in vindication 
of the conduct of the Assembly, and in support of its power. In 
the report, the Burgesses declare that they have in themselves full 
power of election and appointment of all officers in the country, 
until they should have an order to the contrary from the supreme 
power in England ; that the house of Burgesses, the representa- 
tives of the people, were not dissolvable by any power yet extant 
in Virginia, except their own ; that the former election of gover- 
nor and council was null, and that, in future, no one should be ad- 
mitted a counsellor unless he was nominated, appointed, and con- 
firmed by the house of Burgesses. 

They then directed an order to the sheriff of James City coun- 
ty, who was their sergeant-at-arms, that he should execute no war- 
rant, precept, or command, directed to him by any other power or 
person than the Speaker of the House. They then ordered, that 
" as the supreme power of the country of Virginia had been de- 
clared resident in the Burgesses," the secretary of state should be 
required to deliver up the public records to the speaker. An oath 
was prescribed for the governor and council to take, and the same 
governor was elected and most of the same council. Thus were 
all difficulties adjusted, and popular sovereignty fully established. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 67 

Upon the death of Cromwell, the House of Burgesses unani- 
March 1659 "^^^^^y recognised his son Richard, and adopted an 

' * address praying a confirmation of their former priv- 

ileges, in which address the governor was required to join, after 
solemnly acknowledging, in the presence of the whole Assembly, 
that the supreme pow^er of electing officers was, by the present 
laws, resident in the Grand Assembly ; which was alleged to be 
required for this reason, that what was their privilege now might 
belong to their posterity hereafter. 

Matthews died, leaving the colony of Virginia without a gover- 
March 1660 ^^'*' ^^^^^ *^® same time that the resignation of 

' * Richard Cromwell left England without a head. In 
this emergency the Assembly, reciting that the late frequent dis- 
tractions in England preventing any power from being generally 
confessed ; that the supreme power of the colony should be vested 
in the Assembly, and that all writs should issue in its name, until 
such a command and commission should come from England as 
should by the Assembly be adjudged lawful. Sir William Berke- 
ley was then elected governor, with the express stipulation that 
he should call an Assembly once in two years at least, and should 
not dissolve the Assembly without its own consent. This old roy- 
ahst, probably thinking now that there was a prospect of the res- 
toration, accepted the office under the prescribed conditions, and 
acknowledged himself to be but the servant of the Assembly. 

During the suspension of the royal government in England, Virginia attained un- 
limited liberty of commerce, which they regulated by independent laws. The ordinance 
of 1650 was rendered void by the act of capitulation ; the navigation act of Cromwell 
was not designed for her oppression, and was not enforced within her borders. Only 
one confiscation appears to have taken place, and that was entirely by the authority of 
the Grand Assembly. The war between England and Holland necessarily interrupted 
the intercourse of the Dutch with the English colonies ; but, if after the treaty of peace 
the trade was considered contraband, the English restrictions were entirely disregarded. 
1655 Con^iiiissioners were sent to England to undeceive Cromwell with regard to the 
course Virginia had taken with reference to the boundary of Maryland, with 
regard to which he had been misinformed ; and to present a remonstrance demanding 
unlimited freedom of trade ; which, it appears, was not refused, for some months before 
the Protector's death, the Virginians invited the " Dutch and all foreigners" to trade with 
them on payment of no higher duty than that which was levied on such English vessels 
as were bound for a foreign port. Proposals of peace and commerce between New- 
Netherland and Virginia were discussed without scruple by the respective colonial gov- 
ernments ; and at last a special statute of Virginia extended to every Christian nation, 
in amity with England, a promise of liberty of trade and equal justice. 

lOf'O At the restoration, Virginia enjoyed freedom of com- 
merce with the whole world. 
Virginia was the first state in the world composed of separate 
townships, diff'used over an extensive surface, where the govern- 
jQKK nient was organized on the principle of universal suffrage. 
All freemen, without exception, were entitled to vote. The 
IQKQ right of suffrage was once restricted, but it was soon after 
determined to be " hard and unagreeable to reason, that 
any person shall pay equal taxes and yet have no vote in the elec- 
tion ;" and the electoral franchise was restored to all freemen. 



68 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

Servants, when the time of their bondage was completed, at once 
became electors ; and might be chosen burgesses. Thus Virginia 
established upon her soil the supremacy of the popular branch, the 
freedom of trade, the independence of religious societies, the secu- 
rity from foreign taxation, and the universal elective franchise. If 
in the following years she departed from either of these principles, 
and yielded a reluctant consent to change, it was from the influ- 
ence of foreign authority. Virginia had herself established a 
nearly independent democracy. Prosperity advanced with free- 
dom ; dreams of new staples and infinite wealth were indulged ; 
while the population of Virginia at the epoch of the restoration 
may have been about thirty thousand. Many of the recent emi- 
grants had been royalists in England, good officers in the war, 
men of education, of property, and of condition. But the waters 
of the Atlantic divided them from the political strifes of Europe ; 
their industry was employed in making the best advantage of their 
plantations ; the interests and liberties of Virginia, the land which 
they adopted as their country, were dearer to them than the mo- 
narchical principles which they had espoused in England ; and 
therefore no bitterness could exist between the partisans of the 
Stuarts and the friends of republican liberty. Virginia had long 
been the home of its inhabitants — " Among many other blessings," 
said their statute-book, " God Almighty hath vouchsafed increase 
of children to this colony ; who are now multiplied to a consider- 
able number ;" and the huts in the wilderness were as full as the 
birds' nests of the woods. 

The genial climate and transparent atmosphere delighted those 
who had come from the denser air of England. Every object in 
nature was new and wonderful. 

The hospitality of the Virginians became proverbial. Labor 
was valuable ; land was cheap ; competence promptly followed 
industry. There was no need of a scramble ; abundance gushed 
from the earth for all. The morasses were alive with water-fowl ; 
the forests were nimble with game ; the woods rustled with covies 
of quails and wild turkeys, while they sung with the merry notes 
of the singing birds ; and hogs, swarming like vermin, ran at large 
in troops. It was " the best poor man's country in the world." 
" If a happy peace be settled in poor England," it had been said, 
" then they in Virginia shall be as happy a people as any under 
heaven." But plenty encouraged indolence. No domestic manu- 
factures were established ; every thing was imported from England. 
The chief branch of industry, for the purpose of exchanges, was 
tobacco planting ; and the spirit of invention was enfeebled by the 
uniformity of pursuit. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 69 

CHAPTER V. 

bacon's rebellion — ^HOSTILE DESIGNS OF THE FRENCH. 

Indifference to change in England. — Navigation Act. — Convicts. — Conspiracy detected. 
— Discontents. — Cessation from tobacco planting for one year. — Royal grants. — 
Virginians remonstrance. — Success of deputies. — Indian hostilities. — Army raised 
and disbanded by governor. — People petition for an army — elect Bacon commander 
-he marches without commission and defeats Indians — pursued by governor, who 
retreats on hearing of rising at Jamestown. — Governor makes concessions. — Bacon 
prisoner — is pardoned. — People force commission from governor. — Bacon marches to 
meet Indians — hears he is declared a rebel by Berkeley — marches to meet him-r-he 
flees to Accomac. — Convention called and free government established. — Bacon de. 
feats the Indians. — Berkeley obtains possession of the shipping, and occupies James- 
town — is besieged by Bacon, and driven out. — Jamestown burnt — Death of Bacon — 
character of his enterprise. — Predatory warfare — treaty between governor and his 
opponents. — Cruelty of Berkeley. — King's commissioners. — Departure of Berkeley, 
and his death. — Acts of Assembly passed during Bacon's influence. — Conduct of 
king's commissioners. — Culpeper governor. — Discontents. — Conduct of Beverly. — 
Howard governor. — General conduct of Virginia and progress of affairs. — Plan of 
Callier for dividing the British colonies. 

As Virginia had provided for herself a government substan- 
tially free, the political changes in England could have little effect 
upon her repose, provided no attempt was made to interfere with 
the freedom of her trade, or her local government. She seemed 
content to be under the protection, rather than control, of what- 
ever power the people of England thought proper to place at the 
head of aifairs, provided that power did not seek to ^tend the 
conceded authority. In this mood she had adhered to Charles I. 
until the Parliament, by its commissioners, promised a preserva- 
tion of all her privileges; she acknowledged Cromwell upon a 
similar promise, and his son Richard under the same idea ; upon 
his resignation she held herself aloof, thus proving how perfect 
and hov/ independent was her own local government, until the 
voice of England should declare who should rule ; and upon the 
accession of Charles 11. she gave in her allegiance to him. As in 
all these British changes she remained unconcerned and unmoved, 
so the last caused neither extraordinary joy nor regret. The colo- 
nists, thus free from external sources of uneasiness, proceeded to 
legislate upon internal matters ; providing rewards for the en- 
couragement of silk and other staples ; negotiating with Carolina 
and Maryland for the adoption of uniform measures for the im- 
provement of tobacco, and diminishing its quantity ; and provid- 
ing for the erection of public buildings, the improvement of James- 
town, and other subjects of general utility. 

While the colonists were proceeding in this useful occupation, 
j„^„ they were alarmed by the intelligence of the re-enaction 
of the navigation act, odious with new prohibitions, and 
armed with new penalties. The Virginians had long enjoyed a 
very beneficial trade with other countries besides England, and 
had early perceived its advantages, often urging the propriety of 



70 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 



its continuance, and contending that " freedom of trade was the 
life of a commonwealth." But the object of the navigation act 
was to confine its trade exclusively to England, for the encourage- 
ment of English shipping, and the emolument of English merchants, 
as well as the promotion of the king's revenue ; without regard to 
the gross injury done to the colony by depriving her of the benefit 
of competition in her harbors. The colony remonstrated in vain, 
and continued boldly her trade with all such foreigners as would 
venture to encounter the risk of being taken by the English crui- 
sers, and encountering the penalties of the act. 

It appears to have been for some time the practice to send felons 
and other obnoxious persons to the colony, to expiate their offences 
oy serving the planters for a term of years. At the restoration 
many of the veteran soldiers of Cromwell, to whom it was antici- 
pated the return of the ancien regime would not be particularly 
palatable, were shipped to Virginia to work off their spleen in the 
cultivation of tobacco. It appears that this new business was not 
as agreeable to them as they had found the psalm-singing and 
plundering of the royalists, under the command of their devout 
leader ; and they accordingly quickly organized an insurrection, 
by the operation of which they were to change places with such 
of their masters as were left alive by the process. But this out- 
breaking, which seems to have been well planned and extensively 
organized, was prevented by the compunction of one of their asso- 
ciates, who disclosed the whole affair to the governor the evening 
before it was to have gone into effect ; and adequate means were 
-p , . o taken to prevent the design. Four of the conspirators 
were executed. But this evil of importing jail-birds, as 
they were called, increased to such an extent that it was prohib- 
ited by the General Court, in 1670, under severe penalties. 

The increase in the amount of tobacco raised by the increase of 
T ^ ifififi ^^® colony and the settlement of Maryland and 
' ' Carolina, far outstripped the increase of taste for it, 

rapid as that was, and caused such a glut of the commodity that 
its price fell to an amount utterly ruinous to the planter. In this 
the exclusive privilege of purchase which England enjoyed, not- 
withstanding the extensive contraband trade, no doubt largely 
contributed ; but this the planters could not prevent, and their 
only remaining resource was in diminishing the amount of tobacco 
raised. To effect this various schemes had been devised, but they 
were all liable to be evaded, and were, if successful, too partial 
in their operation to effect the object desired. Nothing could be 
efficient, short of a total cessation from planting for one year, and 
this was at last accomplished after long negotiations with Mary- 
land and Carolina. 

Many other staples had been recommended from time to time to 
the planters, and even encouraged by bounties and rewards, and 
this year, it was thought, would give them more leisure to attend 
to the subject. But it is not probable that many engaged in the 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 71 

occupations proposed, which required the investment of capital, 
the acquisition of skill, and the aid of time to render them profit- 
able ; and the year's leisure only served to increase the growing 
discontent, especially as towards its end Maryland began to be 
suspected of bad faith. 

There were other causes of discontent which probably prevailed 
between different classes of society. Loud complaint was made 
of the manner in which taxes were levied, entirely on persons 
without regard to property, which, as there must have been a very 
large class of poor free persons now existing, from the frequent 
emancipation, and expiration of the terms of those who came over 
as servants, besides those who were free but poor when they came 
to the country, must have created considerable excitement. An 
effort was made to remedy this evil by laying a tax on property, 
but ineffectually ; the only result being a small export duty on to- 
bacco, in aid of the general revenue. 

While the taxes bore thus hard upon the poorer portion of the 
community, they also had just reason to complain of exclusion 
from the right of suffrage by an act of 1670, and from the Legis- 
lature, to which none but freeholders could be chosen ; as well as 
of the enormous pay which the Burgesses appropriated to them- 
selves, of one hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco per diem, and 
one hundred for their horses and servants. The forts were also 
complained of as a source of heavy expenditure, without any 
benefit ; their chief use, indeed, being rather injurious, as they kept 
off traders who violated the navigation acts. 

But these evils in domestic legislation were trivial, compared 
with those produced by the criminal prodigality of Charles, who 
wantonly made exorbitant grants to his favorites of large tracts 
of lands, without a knowledge of localities, and consequently with- 
out regard to the claims or even the settlements of others. To 
cap the climax of royal munificence, the gay monarch, in, perhaps, 
a merry mood, granted to Lords Culpeper and Arlington the whole 
colony of Virginia, for thirty-one years, with privileges effectually 
royal as, far as the colony was concerned, only reserving some 
mark of homage to himself. This might be considered at court, 
perhaps, as a small bounty to a favorite, but was taken in a very 
serious light by the forty thousand people thus unceremoniously 
transferred. The Assembly, in its extravagance, only took from 
them a great proportion of their profits ; but the king was filching 
their capital, their lands, and their homes, which they had inherited 
from their fathers, or laboriously acquired by their own strenuous 
exertion. 

The Legislature sent three deputies to England, to remonstrate 
with the king against these intolerable grants, to endeavor to pro- 
cure his assent to some charter which might secure them against 
such impositions for the future ; and if they should fail in the first 
of these objects, to endeavor to buy out the rights of the patentees. 
To bear the expense of these three deputies, Mr. Ludwell, Mr. 



72 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

Morryson, and Mr. Smith, the enormous annual tax of fifty pounds 
of tobacco was laid upon every titheable person for two years, 
which, though it was for a popular object, was considered as of 
itself an intolerable grievance, at which we cannot wonder when 
we reflect that many who had to pay this tax did not own a foot 
of land. The amount can only be accounted for, by supposing 
much of it was to be used as secret service money, with such of 
his majesty's minions as could only see justice through a golden 
medium. 

These deputies exerted themselves with remarkable success, 
and procured from the king an order for a charter, precisely in 
conformity to the petition which they presented, and providing 
against the grievances of which they complained ; especially 
grants from the crown without information from the governor and 
council in Virginia that such grants would be of no injury ; de- 
pendence immediately upon the crown of England, and not on 
any subfeudatory ; and exemption from taxation without consent 
of the Grand Assembly. His majesty ordered the solicitor-general 
and attorney-general to prepare a bill embodying these and the 
other matters embraced in their petition, in due legal form, for his 
signature ; but the matter, notwithstanding the most assiduous 
attention of the deputies, was so long delayed in going through 
the official forms that it was finally stopped, before its completion, 
in the Hanaper office, by the news of Bacon's Rebellion. 

Soon after the deputies left Virginia, the difficulties of the colony 
had been increased by the addition of an Indian war, which, al- 
though not now, as formerly, a matter causing danger of destruction 
to the whole colony, and requiring all its strength to repel it, was 
yet a subject of great terror and annoyance to the frontier. 

A standing army of five hundred men, one-fourth of which was 
1^ ^ ,„^. to consist of cavalry, was raised by the Legislature, 

^^' ' ' and every provision made for their support and regu- 

lation ; but after it was raised, and in a complete state of prepa- 
ration to march against the Indians, it was suddenly disbanded by 
the governor without any apparent cause. This was followed by 
earnest petitions to the governor from various quarters of the coun- 
try, to grant a commission to some person to chastise the Indians, 
the petitioners offering to serve in the expedition at their own ex- 
pense. This reasonable request was refused, and the people, see- 
ing their country left defenceless to the inroads of a savage foe, 
assembled of themselves in their primary capacity, in virtue of 
their right of self-defence, to march against the enemy. They 
chose for their leader Nathaniel Bacon, junior, a young gentleman 
of highly respectable family and education, who, although he had 
returned to Virginia but three years before, from the completion 
of his studies in England, had already received the honor of a 
colonel's rank in the militia, and a seat in the Legislature for Hen- 
rico, in which county his estate lay, — exposed by its situation to 
the fury of the Indians. He stood high in the colony, and was 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 73 

possessed of courage, talent, and address, which fitted him well 
for such an enterprise. After Bacon had been selected by this 
volunteer army as their leader, his first step was to apply to the 
governor for a commission, in order, if possible, to have the sanc- 
tion of the legitimate authorities for his conduct. The governor 
evaded this rational and respectful request, by saying that he could 
not decide upon so important a matter without his council, which 
he summoned to consult, at the same time artfully hinting to Ba- 
con the injury which he might probably do himself by persevering 
in his course. Bacon dispatched messengers to Jamestown to 
receive the commission, which he did not doubt would be ulti- 
mately granted ; and as public impatience would not abide the 
dilatory proceedings of the governor, and he was probably net- 
tled at the insinuations addressed to his selfishness, in the gov- 
ernor's communication, — he proceeded on his expedition, authoriz- 
ed only by the will of the people, the danger of the country, 
and the anxious wish of those who trusted their lives to his 
control. 

Sir William Berkeley, (whose conduct, notwithstanding the 
high encomiums bestowed upon him, seems to have been marked 
in ordinary times only by a haughty condescension, which in his 
excellency was called suavity of manners, and in those times of 
difficulty, by vacillating imbecility,) after temporizing in the most 
conciliating manner with Bacon until his departure, now denounc- 
ed him and his followers as mutineers and traitors, for daring to 
defend their country after his excellency had refused them a com- 
mission ; and gathering together such forces as he could collect, 
consisting principally of the wealthy aristocrats in the settled 
country, who probably liked the mode of taxation which was 
least injurious to them, and who suffered little from Indian incur- 
sions upon the frontier, he marched to put down the rebellious 
troops. He had not proceeded further than the falls of James 
River, when he received intelligence of a rising in the neighbor- 
hood of Jamestown of a more formidable nature than Bacon's, 
w^hich compelled him to retreat and take care of aff'airs at home. 
This new ebullition of feeling was headed by Ingram and Walk- 
late, and was probably produced by the indignation of the common 
people at the absurd conduct of the governor in first refusing a 
commission to Bacon, and then marching to destroy him, while 
engaged in so useful an occupation. Be this as it may, we find 
them insisting upon dismantling the forts, which were intolerably 
oppressive, without producing any good effect against an enemy 
whose progress was by stealth, whose onset was sudden and 
furious, and whose retreat was immediate. Against such an en- 
emy active operations in the field were required, and the vigorous 
prosecution of the war in his own country. The forts, probably, 
were regarded by the poor as instruments of power in the hands 
of the rich ; which they kept up by oppressive acts, while they 
took measures to put down Bacon's operations, which constituted 

10 



74 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

the only hope which the people had for protection. The governor 
was obliged to yield to the storm. The forts were ordered to be 
dismantled, and the obnoxious assembly was dissolved, and writs 
issued for a new election, in which, for the first time, freemen, as 
distinguished from freeholders, were elected. 

In the mean time. Bacon had been very successful in defeating 
the Indians, destroying their towns, and taking them captive ; and 
was returning leisurely to Jamestown when he heard of the 
revolution there. This induced him to leave his little army, and, 
with a few followers, embark for Jamestown ; but he was taken 
on his voyage by Gardiner, who was cruising to intercept him, and 
sent a prisoner to the governor. Bacon had been elected a mem- 
ber for Henrico in the new legislature, and was pardoned and per- 
mitted to take his seat upon his confessing the impropriety and 
disobedience of his conduct, praying pardon of the governor, and 
promising future obedience. Credible report says, that he was 
induced to make this full and humiliating acknowledgment upon 
a promise by the governor, not only of pardon, but of a commis- 
sion : and, indeed, without supposing it the result of a compro- 
mise, it is difficult to account either for this act or his subsequent 
conduct. The causes which induced his next step are not suffi- 
ciently explained by the historians of the times, but it was proba- 
bly produced by the solicitations of his friends in the legislature, 
who found that they could gain no redress of grievances. He 
collected troops in the country, and marched to Jamestown ; he 
surrounded the state house with his enraged soldiers, demanding a 
commission for him ; which, by the earnest solicitation of the 
council and assembly, w^as at length obtained from the governor, 
together with a full act of indemnity for his present conduct, and 
a letter, highly applauding his designs and his proceedings, ad- 
dressed to the king, and signed by the burgesses, the council, and 
the governor. 

Thus relieved from all former sources of fear, and provided 
against future contingencies, Bacon again sallied forth towards the 
frontier. But the governor had not long been relieved from his 
presence before he dissolved the assembly, and retiring into Glou- 
cester, again declared Bacon a rebel, and his army traitors, and 
raised the standard of opposition. Upon being informed of this, 
Bacon jimmediately fell back by forced marches upon Gloucester, 
and compelled his puissant excellency to retreat with precipitation 
to Accomac. This county was at that time considered as a distinct 
territory, although under the control of Virginia, and Bacon, taking 
advantage of this against an unpopular governor, called a con- 
vention for the purpose of settling the government, declaring that 
the governor had abdicated. This convention met at Middle Plan- 
tation on the 3d of August, 1676, and declared that the govern- 
ment was vacant by the abdication of Sir William Berkeley, and 
that, by invariable usage, the council or the people might fill the 
vacancy until the king's pleasure should be known* Writs were 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 75 

then issued by five* members of the council for a new election of 
burgesses. The convention next declared Sir William Berkeley 
guilty of aiding and abetting certain evil disposed persons in 
fomenting and stirring up the people to civil war ; and that they 
would aid in discovering all such evil disposed persons, and op- 
posing their forces, until the king be fully informed of the state of 
the case ; and that they would aid Bacon and his army against the 
common enemy, and in suppressing the horrid outrages and mur- 
ders daily committed by them. 

Bacon having now provided a regular government for the coun- 
try, proceeded once more against the Indians, who had formed a 
confederacy and gained several advantages since his retreat. He 
destroyed the Pamunky, Chickahominy, and Mattaponi towns 
and their corn, in retaliation of the late excesses. The Indians 
retreated before him, with occasional skirmishes, until they reach- 
ed their place of general rendezvous near the falls of James River. 
He there found their whole force posted on an eminence over- 
hanging a stream, which, from the sanguinary nature of the con- 
flict, has been since called Bloody Run. They were protected by 
a stockade fort, which was stormed by the impetuous ardor of 
Bacon and his followers, who made great slaughter among them, 
encumbered as they were with their old men, women, and children. 

In the mean time, Berkeley had not met with that warm recep- 
tion which he had anticipated among the loyalists of Accomac ; 
but, on the other hand, he had been presented with a strong and 
spirited remonstrance against the objectionable acts of Parliament, 
and a requisition that they should be suspended, at least so far as 
regarded that portion of the country. How the matter termi- 
nated we are not informed. 

The governor was not allowed to remain undisturbed in Acco- 
mac, until he could again succeed in raising a force which might 
give trouble. Bacon's party was in possession of all the vessels 
in the colony, and two of his friends, Giles Bland and William 
Carver, went with their force to cut off supplies from the governor, 
or, as his friends surmised, to surprise him. But if such was their 
object they were defeated, for Captain Larimore, from whom one 
of the vessels had been taken, gave intimation to the governor's 
friends that he would betray his vessel into the hands of a party 
sufficiently strong to keep possession. The proposal was acceded 
to, and at midnight six and twenty men, obeying Larimore's signal, 
were along side of his ship, and had possession almost before the 
crew were aroused from their slumbers ; the other vessels were 
then easily taken. Thus, Sir William finding himself in posses- 
sion of the whole naval force of the colony, while Bacon was 
absent on his expedition against the Indians, he collected together 



* Burke, vol. II, p. 179, says, " by Bacon and four other members of the council," 
but the member of the council was Nathaniel Bacon, sen., and the general was Na- 
thaniel Bacon, jun., delegate for Henrico. — Hening, vol. II. p. 544-3. 



76 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

a force of some six hundred men, consisting mostly of aristocratic 
gentlemen and their servile dependents, and took possession once 
more of Jamestown. As usual, his first act in returning to power, 
was to disavow his acts in favor of Bacon as made under duress, 
and again to declare him a rebel, and his soldiers traitors. 

Bacon v^^as on his return from his successful campaign when 
this news reached him ; most of his followers had dispersed, but 
he hastened on with the remainder, without regard to their 
fatigues in the recent campaign. He arrived before Jamestown 
late in the evening, fired his artillery and sounded a defiance, and 
then coolly dismounted and laid off" his trenches. His men that 
very night, by the aid of trees, earth, and brushwood, formed a 
tolerable breastwork, and the next morning advanced to the pali- 
sadoes of the town, and fired upon the guard, without loss. Sir 
William Berkeley, well knowing that time would increase the 
force of his adversary, while it diminished his own, next resolved 
to try the effects of a sally ; and some of his men at first behaved 
with some show of courage, but the whole body soon retreated in 
disorder before the well-directed fire of Bacon's men, leaving their 
drum and their dead as trophies to the victors. Bacon would not 
allow the victory to be followed up, as it would have placed his 
men under the range of the guns of the shipping. To prevent the 
use which might be made by this auxiliary, he planted several 
great guns so as to bear on the ships, which served also to alarm, 
though they could not annoy the town. 

Now the marked difference which existed between the charac- 
ter of Bacon's troops and those of the governor was exhibited, 
and that, too, in a manner well calculated to exhibit the character 
of Bacon's proceedings. Berkeley's troops, consisting principally 
of mercenary wretches, whom he had scraped together by the 
hopes of plunder, deserted every day when they found that the 
governor was determined to defend the place, and that they were 
likely to get more blows than booty in the contest, until at last the 
governor was left with little more than twenty gentlemen, whose 
sense of honor would not allow them to desert his person. Bacon's 
troops, on the other hand, were daily reinforced by accessions from 
the country people, who clearly considered him as an intrepid sol- 
dier, who had delivered them from the butcheries of the savages ; 
and a patriot, who was now endeavoring to put down an odious 
and oppressive government. 

The governor, finding his followers reduced to so small a num- 
ber that it would be madness to attempt to defend the place, at 
length yielded to the earnest solicitations of those about him, and 
deceiving his adversaries as to his real design, by exhibiting evi- 
dences of a contemplated attack, he went on board a ship at mid- 
night, and was seen next morning riding at anchor, beyond the 
reach of the guns in the fort at Jamestown. Bacon, with his fol- 
lowers, after their week's siege, marched into the empty town the 
next morning, the governor and his party having carried off or 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 77 

destroyed every article of value. The possession of Jamestown, 
in this situation, wsts of no advantage to Bacon or his followers. 
The men who had left their homes to defend their country from 
the incursions of the Indians, could not remain together for the 
purpose of defending the capital from their hostile governor, who 
was quietly waiting in the river for them to depart, in order that 
he might again resume possession. What could be done with a 
town which could not be defended, and, if defended, was of no 
value to the possessors ; but which was all-important to the ene- 
my ? The answer to this question was manifest, and Bacon's 
proposal for its destruction was received with acclamation ; seve- 
ral of his followers, who owned the most valuable houses, apply- 
ing the firebrand with their own hands to their own property. 
The sight of the flames started Sir William Berkeley on a cruise 
to Accomac ; and Bacon having overcome all opposition to the 
government established by the convention, dismissed the troops to 
their homes. 

We have little account of Bacon's proceedings after this successful termination of his 
labors ; we presume he did not do much, as he was ill of a disease caught by sleeping 
exposed in the trenches before Jamestown, which in a short time terminated his exist- 
ence. He died at the house of a Mr. Pate, in Gloucester county. Thus died the 
distinguished individual, who overcame both the foreign and domestic enemies of his 
country, and left it enjoying the blessings of a free government. Had he lived precisely 
a century later, he would have been one of the distinguished heroes of the revolution, 
and historians would have delighted as much in eulogizing his conduct, as they have, 
under existing circumstances, in blackening his character. He accomplished all which 
it was possible for him to do. He never opposed the British government, but only 
foreign enemies, and domestic mal-administration, which he succeeded in defeating. 
He seems always to have acted by the consent and wish of the people, and never to 
have sought self-aggrandizement. It was manifestly impossible for him to elevate him- 
self to absolute power in Virginia, without the consent of the government of England, 
and the people of Virginia ; and the idea of resisting both of these powers was absurd. 
For all the evils which accrued to the country after his death, and the restoration of 
Sir William Berkeley, he has been unjustly made responsible, while he has received no 
credit for his good conduct, or the beneficial acts passed by the legislature during his 
ascendency. In short, we can see no difference between his course, and that pursued in 
the previous expulsion of Sir John Harvey from the government, or the subsequent treat- 
ment of Lord Dunniore, and many other royal governors, at the commencement of the 
revolution. The only difference between the patriots of 1676 and 1776, was in the estab- 
lishment of a free government, subject to the general control of Great Britain, which was 
all that could be done in 1676, and the establishment of a free government independent 
of Great Britain, which was accomplished in 1776. The unfortunate death of Bacon, 
and the power of the mother country, destroyed in a great measure the benefit of the 
exertion of the little band of patriots of the first period, while the benefits of the latter 
have continued to exist. The loyal writers, after the re-establishment of Berkeley, 
sought to hide his pusillanimity by extolling his virtues, and blackening his adversary, 
in which they have been blindly followed by other writers, who have attributed the 
subsequent misery to the previous rebellion, instead of to the avarice, malignity, and re- 
venge of the governor and his party, seeking to overawe and suppress popular indigna- 
tion, and break the strength of the popular party, by the forcible exertion of arbitrary 
authority, as well as to avenge themselves for the indignities to which their own folly 
subjected them. On the other hand, the patriots of the revolution have only received the 
just reward of their merit, in the lavish praises of a grateful posterity ; and the loyal 
party of their day has been justly handed down to universal execration. 

The death of Bacon, by leaving the republicans without a head, 
revived the courage of the governor so far, that he ventured in his 
ships to move about upon the bay and rivers, and attack the inhabit- 



78 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

ants wherever he could find them defenceless, and snatch a little 
plunder to gratify his needy followers ; always retiring when the 
opposite party appeared to oppose him. This predatory species of 
warfare preventing the quiet pursuit of agricultural labors, and 
destroying all the comfort and happiness of society, without pro- 
ducing any beneficial result, soon grew wearisome to both parties. 
Sir William Berkeley, whose cruelties, especially to his prisoners, 
had gone far to keep up the enthusiasm of popular excitement, 
finding that his name had ceased to strike that awe which habitual 
respect for one high in authority had formerly given it, and that 
his punishments excited indignation rather than terror, felt disposed 
to take advantage, by milder means, of the returning pacific dispo- 
•sition on the part of a people whose stubborn tempers could not 
be brought into obedience by force. With this view, he treated 
his prisoners with more liberality, published an act of general in- 
demnity, and proposed a treaty of peace to Ingram and Walklate, 
the principal leaders of the opposing party since the death of Ba- 
con. So anxious were the people to be relieved from the present 
confusion and anarchy, and the governor once more to rule with 
uncurbed sway, that a treaty was speedily concluded, only stipu- 
lating, on the part of the governor, a general oblivion, and indem- 
nity of past offences ; and, on the part of his opponents, a surrender 
of their arms, and a restoration of such property as they had taken. 
Thus easily did these unfortunate men deliver themselves again 
into the lion's power, after having defeated him at all points, and 
inflicted deep and irremediable wounds upon his inflated vanity, 
and pompous mock-dignity. The governor, when he had his ene- 
mies in his power, instead of trying to heal the wounds of the 
bleeding state by mildness and conciliation, only added to its suf- 
ferings by a bloody retribution for all the trouble which he had 
been made to endure. Fines and confiscations, for the benefit of 
his excellency, became the order of the day, and an occasional 
execution, as an extra treat to his vengeance. He at first attempted 
to wrest the honest juries of the county to his purpose, but in vain, 
•- — ten prisoners were acquitted in a single day. Finding that his 
enemies were thus likely to escape his grasp, by the unflinching 
integrity and sense of justice prevailing among the people, he 
determined to avoid the use of a court constituted upon principles 
of the English constitution, which he found so little subservient to 
his will, and tried his next victims under martial law. He here 
found a court of more congenial spirits. The commissioners of 
the king give an account of some of these trials, such as they 
were carried on even after their arrival, which mark well the 
spirit of the times. " We also observed some of the royal party, 
that sat on the bench with us at the trial, to be so forward in 
impeaching, accusing, reviling, the prisoners at bar, with that in- 
veteracy, as if they had been the worst of witnesses, rather than 
justices of the commission ; both accusing and condemning at the 
game time, This severe way of proceeding represented to the 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 79 

assembly, they voted an address to the governor, that he would 
desist from any further sanguinary punishments, for none could tell 
when or where it would terminate. So the governor was prevailed 
on to hold his hands, after hanging twenty-three." 

A notable way which the governor adopted to replenish his purse, 
after the disasters of the war, M^as to relieve the rebels from a trial 
in one of his courts-martial, in which they were to be condemned, 
upon their paying him a great portion of their estates, by way of 
compromise. This method of disposing of men's estates, without 
trial or conviction, was protested against by his majesty's commis- 
sioners, as a gross violation of the laws of England, but which Sir 
William's friends seem to think only a just retribution for the 
losses sustained by himself and the royal party during the rebellion. 
Enormous fines, payable in provision, were also found a convenient 
method of providing for the king's troops which had been sent over 
to subdue the colony. 

His majesty's commissioners fortunately arrived in time to stay 
the wrath of the vindictive old man, who would, as an eye-wit- 
ness says, " he verily believes, have hanged half the county if they 
had let him alone." They urged him in vain to publish the king's 
proclamation of a general pardon and indemnity ; and then pro- 
ceeded to hold their commission for hearing and redressing griev- 
ances. As the proceedings of the governor diffused a gloom, the 
generality of which was co-extensive with the immense numbers 
that were engaged in the rebellion, so did the proceedings of the 
commissioners spread a universal joy. Crowds of persons now 
came forward to present their grievances — widows and orphans to 
ask for the confiscated estates of their husbands and fathers, who 
had been butchered by the military tribunals of the governor ; 
others came in to complain of the seizing of their estates without 
the form of a trial ; and many, who had submitted themselves upon 
the governor's proclamation of indemnity and pardon, complained 
of subsequent imprisonment and confiscations of their property. 

The commissioners state in their report to the king and council, 
that " in the whole course of their proceedings they had avoided 
receiving any complaints of public grievances, but by and under 
the hand of the most credible, loyal, and sober persons of each 
county with caution ; that they did not do it in any mutinous manner, 
and without mixture of their old leaven, but in such sort as might 
become dutiful subjects, and sober, rational men to present." 
When they found that all their representations to Sir William 
Berkeley, to endeavor to induce him to restore the confiscated es- 
tates, which were in the possession of himself or his most faithful 
friends, were in vain, they ascertained as many of the possessors 
as possible, and made them give security to take care of them 
until his majesty should determine as to the restitution which they 
should recommend him to make. The commissioners also devised 
several matters of utility for the peace, good government, and 
safety of the colony ; which they recommended his majesty to 



80 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

adopt. Sir William Berkeley returned in the fleet to England, 
leaving Sir Herbert Jeffries, who had been sent over with the 
commissioners, as governor. Upon his arrival, he found that his 
cruel conduct in Virginia was looked upon with horror by most 
of his former friends and the council, and was not sustained by 
the king, subservient loyalty to whom had been the source and 
spring of his high-handed measures. The old knight, thus finding 
himself execrated in Virginia, and despised in England, soon lan- 
guished and died under the load of infamy with which he had 
crushed the fair fame of his earlier years. Thus ended the life of 
Sir William Berkeley — a governor, whose early character historians 
have delighted to honor, and whose subsequent conduct they have 
sought to excuse : but of whom we can find nothing better upon 
record, than the negative merit of not opposing the legislature in 
its schemes of government in the early part of his reign ; but whose 
latter years are disgraced by cowardly imbecility, and stained with 
crime. 

Before we take leave of the transaction which has been termed, in complaisance to 
the royal governor, Bacon's rebellion, it may not be amiss to cast a hurried glance at 
the laws passed by the legislature which met under his influence ; which must go far 
with posterity in determining, whether the name of rebels or patriots would be most 
consistent with the character of their acts. They strike first at the most important and 
pressing subject, and the one which had been most neglected — the Indian war. They 
provide efficient means for conducting it, and for regulating the army. The next act 
prescribed regulations for Indian trading, the abuse of which was thought to have been 
very mischievous. They next pray his majesty's governor and council, that the lands 
which had been set apart at the last peace exclusively for the Indians, and which had 
been or might be subsequently deserted by them, might not be granted away to in- 
dividuals, but might be used for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the war. The 
fourth act looks very little like an encouragement of rebellion — reciting that tumults, 
riots, and unlawful assemblies, had recently been frequent ; they make it the duty of 
every officer, civil and military, in the country to aid in suppressing them, and the duty 
of all citizens to assist such officers under penalty of punishment for refusal ; and the 
governor is specially requested to assemble a force at the public charge with all possible 
expedition, to suppress such tumults, and inflict condign punishment upon the offenders, 
which, says the act, " will conduce to the great safety and peace of this country, and 
enable us the better to defend ourselves against the barbarous and common enemy." 
This single act sheds more light upon the history of the times, and exhibits more plainly 
the history of the views of the principal actors, than any, or perhaps all, other docu- 
ments ; we see in it the reason why no private persons took advantage of the unsettled 
state of affairs to disturb the public peace, and that there was no tumult or armed force, 
except the regular army, raised by the assembly and put under Bacon's command ; and 
no rebellious assembly, except the miscreant crew raised by Berkeley in opposition to 
the government established by the people. 

Having thus provided for safety from foes without and for peace within, the assembly 
next proceeded to the investigation of abuses by civil officers. Under this head they 
made several provisions for the prevention of abuses, which have been found so well 
devised, that they have continued in use to the present day. They next provide against 
the long continuance of vestries in office ; for the election of burgesses by freemen as 
well as freeholders ; and against false returns of burgesses. Their eighth act provides 
against abuses committed by the justices in laying county levies ; and requires, that a 
number of discreet men, chosen by the people, equal in number to the justices appointed 
by the governor, should act with the justices in laying the county levy. They next 
empowered the county courts to select their own collectors of coimty levies and dues ; and 
prohibit any member of the council from sitting on the county court bench. Passing 
some acts of less general importance, but which were wise and useful, we come to an 
act of general pardon and indemnity for all crimes committed between the 1st of March 
and 25th of June, passed " out of a hearty and pious desire to put an end to all suits 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 81 

ftnd controversies, that by occasion of the late fatal distractions have arisen," " and to 
bury all seeds of future discord and remembrance of any thing whereby the citizens 
might be obnoxious to any pains or penalties whatsoever." 

Their last act deprives Edward Hill and John Stith for ever of the right to hold any 
office of trust, judicature, or profit, because it was notoriously manifest that they had 
been the greatest instruments in raising, promoting, and stirring up the late differences 
and misunderstanding that had arisen between the honorable governor and his majesty's 
good and loyal subjects. The acts of this Assembly were signed by Berkeley in all due 
form, but were subsequently all declared void, though many of them were re-enacted by 
the Legislature, which, under the influence and control of Berkeley, declared them void. 

Although the people of Virginia had laid down their arms, they 
were not subdued, but continued to manifest, through their Legisla- 
ture, the same undaunted tenacity of their rights which had ever 
characterized them. This was exhibited towards the king's com- 
missioners in one of the boldest defences of privilege which the 
records of any nation can exhibit, and shows how strongly imbued 
with the spirit of freedom the people must have been, when they 
could snuff the approach of tyranny at such a distance, and put 
themselves on their defence against their friends, lest their ene- 
mies might take advantage of their concessions. The king's com- 
missioners were empowered to call for persons and papers, for the 
purpose of prosecuting more effectually their inquiries into the 
grievances of the colony. In conformity with their powers they 
called upon the secretary of the Legislature for its journals, but 
were surprised to find, that although their proceedings were popu- 
lar, and their object was to investigate and redress grievances of 
which these very men complained, that they refused to allow 
them to inspect their journals, returning for answer, that it was a 
dangerous precedent, which might be used in violation of their 
privileges. At this time, the governor and commissioners had 
complete physical power over the colony, by the entire absence of 
any thing like organized opposition, and from the presence of the 
king's troops ; and availing themselves of this power, they did not 
hesitate to wrest the journals of the Assembly from the hands of 
its officer by force. Upon which the Virginia Assembly published 
a bold and manly declaration, setting forth, " that his majesty's 
commissioners having called for and forced from the clerk of the 
Assembly, all the original journals of the Assembly, which power 
they supposed his majesty would not grant them, for that they find 
not the same to have been practised by any of the kings of Eng- 
land, and did therefore take the same to be a violation of their 
privileges, desiring withal satisfaction to be given them, that they 
might be assured no such violation of their privileges should be 
offered for the future." The king was so much displeased with 
this declaration, that although he pardoned the members of the 
Legislature, he directed the record of it to be erased, and required 
the governor to propose a bill to the next General Assembly con- 
demning the proceeding, and declaring the right of his majesty 
and his officers to call for all the public records and journals, 
whenever they shall think it necessary for his royal service. 

Sir Herbert Jeffries deserves the merit due to an advantageous 

11 



82 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

treaty with the Indians, and a successful opposition to the petty 
intrigues of the loyalists. He died in 1678, leaving the colony in 
the hands of the lieutenant-governor. Sir Henry Chickerly, during 
whose administration magazines and forts were established at the 
heads of the four great rivers, to overawe the savages, and a silly 
act passed prohibiting the importation of tobacco from Carolina 
and Maryland, for the purpose of transhipment, which practice, if 
they had suffered it to continue, might have proved very profitable 
to the colony, besides putting the tobacco trade more exclusively 
into its own hands. In the succeeding spring. Sir Henry delivered 
the government to Lord Culpeper. The first act of his lordship 
was to declare full and unqualified indemnity to all for their con- 
duct in Bacon's rebellion, and allowing reparation to those who 
should be reproached for their conduct upon that occasion. This 
popular act, added to the pleasing and conciliatory manners of his 
lordship, so won upon the good-natured simplicity of the Assem- 
bly, that they passed an act which probably no force could have 
extorted from them. They raised the duties and made them per- 
petual, instead of annual, as before, and, what was at once sur- 
rendering up the great bulwark of that freedom, for the safety of 
which they had been so long contending, they made the duties 
henceforth subject to his majesty's sole direction and disposal. 

The king rewarded Culpeper's address in obtaining this acquisi- 
tion to his power, by the addition of a thousand pounds to his 
salary, and one hundred and sixty pounds per annum for his rent. 
The Assembly, too, as if they could not do enough for a royal gov- 
enor who could condescend to smile upon them, granted his excel- 
lency a regular duty proportionate to the tonnage of every vessel 
trading to Virginia. Culpeper having thus obtained a consider- 
able increase to his revenue by his trip to Virginia, proceeded to 
England, to enjoy it, leaving the colony once more with Sir Henry 
Chickerly. 

The discontents of the people again began to extend to a degree 
which could scarcely be kept within bounds. The troops which 
had been sent over to suppress Bacon's rebellion were still kept 
up. There were no barracks, and the people positively refused to 
receive these idle and troublesome drones into their houses, al- 
though they were regularly billeted by the government. The low 
price of tobacco, too, was a never-failing source of complaint, as 
well as the commercial regulations which aided in producing it. 
The colony had urged Culpeper to exert his influence at court to 
procure a cessation from planting, to which they had for some time 
in vain endeavored to obtain the assent of Carolina and Maryland. 

To these evils another was now added, which struck another 
blow at commerce. The idea had been conceived that the colony 
could not prosper without towns, and to promote their growth the 
planters, living principally on the shores of the magnificent Chesa- 
peake, and the broad navigable rivers of Virginia, were required 
to bring their produce to particular spots for the purpose of being 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 83 

shipped. Thus taxing the planter with unnecessary freight and 
commission for the benefit of such idlers as might congregate in 
the towns. These acts were enforced by heavy penalties, and as 
they contributed very much to the benefit of the town's people, the 
penalty for the violation was rigorously enforced. These prose- 
cutions drove many traders from the country, and the poor plant- 
ers, to whom it was physically impossible to convey their crops to 
these paper-towns, were doomed to see their crops rotting on their 
hands by this injudicious legislation, or, if they attempted to evade 
the law, have them wrested from them in the shape of penalties. 
These several subjects of complaint induced the people of several 
counties to petition the deputy governor to call an assembly, to 
endeavor to provide a remedy for the evils. At the meeting of the 
Assembly, there was much debate and declamation upon the con- 
dition of the country, but no measure of relief was adopted. By 
order of the king, however, the two companies of infantry were 
paid off" and disbanded, which put an end to one of the subjects of 
difficulty. The dissolution of the Assembly without effecting any 
thing, caused the impatience of the poor and ignorant people of 
several of the counties to break through all restraint, and expend 
their wrath in the destruction of tobacco-plants, at a season of the 
year when it was too late to sow more seed. Sir Henry Chickerly, 
with commendable moderation, only took measures to stop these 
misguided people, without resorting to harsh punishments ; but lest 
it should be drawn into a precedent, the Legislature not long after- 
wards made it treason. In the mean time. Lord Culpeper ar- 
rived, and his haughty bearing to the Council and the Burgesses 
soon gave intimation to them that his lordship's feelings towards 
the colony had undergone a change. He enlarged, in his speech 
to the Assembly, much upon the favor of his majesty in disband- 
ing the troops, and spoke of permission which he had obtained to 
raise the value of the current coin ; he then went on to declare 
that the colonists did not deserve these gracious favors, but rather 
punishment for their recent turbulence ; he also expressed his 
majesty's great dissatisfaction at the refusal of the journals, and 
desired that that portion of their proceedings should be expunged. 

The Assembly expressed their gratitude for the concessions which had been made by 
the king, but at the same time, with admirable good sense, and a knowledge of the prin- 
ciples of commerce, which shows that they were not acting blindfold with regard to the 
alterations in the price of tobacco heretofore alluded to, protested, by a large majority, 
against raising the value of the coin ; stating, as a reason, that the exercise of this dan- 
gerous power would be made a precedent, and specie, which of course as the standard 
of other value should be as fixed as possible itself, would be blown about by the breath 
of the governor, and the people would have no certainty of the value of the coin in their 
pockets. They stated, moreover, that it was the duty of the legislature to enact all 
laws for the regulation of commerce, and, of course, to prescribe the current price of 
specie, and they accordingly introduced a bill for that purpose ; but this bill, which was 
necessary, as the coins of many different countries were in circulation, was stopped short 
in its progress by the governor, who declared that it was trespassing upon executive prerog. 
ative, and that he would veto any bill which the legislature might pass upon the subject. 
He then proceeded to fix the value himself by proclamation, raising the current price 
considerably, but making exception of his own salary and the revenue of the king. 



84 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

This exception was, in effect, nothing more or less than a new tax of the most odious 
and oppressive character, and the colony plainly recognised it as such, and refused to 
regard the exceptions, but paid the revenue as other debts, according to the new stand' 
ard. And the governor, afraid to bring such a case before any court of law, which he 
well knew would expose his contemptible meanness, and yet afraid to allow his procla- 
mation to be openly disregarded, which would have put an end at once to the authority 
of his edicts, was compelled, by the dilemma, to lower the value of the coin as suddenly 
as he had raised it. This was at once realizing all the worst anticipations of the legis- 
lature as to the arbitrary fluctuations in the standard of value, besides being highly un- 
just and oppressive to such persons as had made payment of debts according to the new 
standard, and such as had given credit during the time of the alteration. The gov- 
ernors had, by some means, been suffered to exercise the power of dissolving the Assem- 
blies, and this having now grown into a usage, was a favorite method of silencing their 
clamors ; and they having rashly made the provision for the revenue perpetual, and put 
the control of that subject into the king's hands, were bound hand and foot, and could 
not control executive usurpation by stopping the wheels of government. The governor 
now made use of this dangerous power and dissolved the Assembly. The governor, thus 
left without a watch or control over his actions, proceeded to a vigorous exercise of ex- 
ecutive powers. The unfortunate plant-cutters, who had merely been imprisoned, and 
such of them dismissed from time to time as would give assurance of penitence, and 
promise a peaceable demeanor, were now proceeded against with the utmost rigor, for 
what the king was pleased to call their treasonable conduct. But the noblest victim for 
tyrannical persecution was Robert Beverly, the former clerk of the Assembly, who had 
refused to give up its papers without authority from " his masters, the house of Burgess- 
es." For some reason, it seems that an inspection of journals was demanded by the 
council again in 1682, and Beverly again refusing to deliver them, was thrown into pri- 
son, in a king's ship, the Duke of York, then lying in the river, his persecutors being 
afraid to trust him to the keeping of the jails among his countrymen. While he was in 
prison, a committee of the council was appointed to seize the papers, which he, foresee- 
ing this event, had secreted. The pretences for this imprisonment were the most frivo- 
lous that can well be imagined ; he is accused of fomenting discord, and stirring up the 
late partial insurrections, but the only specific act of which he was accused, was setting 
on foot petitions for an Assembly. Under these arbitrary proceedings, he was detained 
a prisoner, denied the writ of habeas corpus, and hurried about from prison to prison, 
until the governor at last thought proper, after two years searching for charges, to com- 
mence a regular prosecution. 

The accusation consisted of three heads : — 

1st. That he had broken open public letters directed to the Secretary's office, with 
the writs enclosed for calling an Assembly, in April, 1682, and took upon him the exer- 
cise of that part of the government which belongs to the Secretary's office, and was con- 
trary to his ; — 

2d. That he had made up the journal, and inserted his majesty's letter therein (which 
was first communicated to the house of Burgesses at their prorogation) after their pro- 
rogation ; — 

3d. That he had refused to deliver copies of the journal of the house of Burgesses in 
1682, to the lieutenant-governor and council, saying, " that he might not do it without 
leave of his masters." 

This was all which could be charged against this faithful officer, after so long an im- 
prisonment, and so long a preparation for the prosecution. But of course they will not 
bear scrutiny, being only a flimsy veil thrown over their designs, rather indicating a wish 
to hide the naked deformity of the prosecution, than actually conceahng it. 

Before this notable prosecution was ended, Lord Culpeper for- 
feited his commission, and was superseded by Lord Howard, who 
took the oaths of office on the 28th of February, 1684. His first 
measure was to call an assembly, which, as a popular act, induced 
the colony to hope some degree of mildness in his administration ; 
but these hopes were soon dissipated. He pursued the unfortunate 
plant-cutters with renovated vigor, and such of them as had been 
excepted in a proclamation of general pardon were now executed, 
and their estates, after paying officer's fees, appropriated to the 
governor'.s own use. 



OUTIJNE HISTORY. 85 

The assembly met and refused to proceed with business for the 
want of a clerk, as their former clerk was in prison, and they re- 
fused to elect another. In this situation of affairs the matter seems 
to have been compromised, the governor no doubt despairing of 
his conviction upon the absurd charges made, and Beverly and his 
friends willing to end his long imprisonment and sufferings, by ask- 
ing pardon, at the same time not giving up the papers or the prin- 
ciples for which he suffered. Be this as it may, Beverly threw 
himself upon the mercy of the court, declining to employ counsel or 
make any defence, and was pardoned. Probably these long-con- 
tinued sufferings, with other persecutions afterwards endured, in- 
jured the constitution of Beverly, for we find that he died prior to 
April, 1687. His noble conduct induced king James, the then reign- 
ing monarch, to deprive the Burgesses of the election of their own 
clerk, ordering the governor to elect him, and requiring the assembly 
to make the clerk, so elected, the usual allowance for his services. 

The accession of James II. was proclaimed with the usual de- 
■p , . _ noor monstrations of respect in the colony, and compli- 
' ' mentary assurances of loyalty on the one side, and 

gracious regard on the other, were exchanged between his subjects 
and the assembly. But nothing was done to secure the freedom 
of the colony, and Lord Howard took advantage of the succeeding 
recess of the assembly, to enlarge the fees and perquisites of his 
office, and to impose new ones without the advice or authority of 
the assembly. This body, which met in November, immediately 
took into consideration these arbitrary exactions, and passed spir- 
ited resolutions in reprobation of them, and made provision for the 
defence of the citizens from similar encroachments in future. To 
these acts the governor applied his negative, without assigning any 
reason. Lord Howard, not satisfied with thus stopping the legisla- 
tion of the colony, proceeded in effect to acts of executive legisla- 
tion, by issuing a proclamation, in obedience, he said, to the king's 
instructions, repealing several acts of the legislature, which were 
themselves repeals of former acts, and declaring the acts repealed 
by that body to be revived, and in full force, as before the passage 
of the repealing acts. This proclamation the assembly protested 
against as illegal and unwarrantable, as utterly subversive of the 
government, annihilating the right of the popular branch, and 
bringing all to bow in humble submission to the mercy of the pre- 
rogative. The spirited conduct of the Burgesses could not be en- 
O t 20 IfiSfi dured by the governor, and he prorogued them. 
' * The governor had sent to James an account of the 

conduct of this assembly. This representation produced in reply 
from James, a furious, quarrelsome order, calling their conduct 
mutinous, and attributing it to their " unquiet dispositions and sin- 
ister intentions to protract the time of their sitting to the great op- 
pression of his subjects, from whom they received wages ;" con- 
cluding by an order for the prosecution of their clerk Beverly, to 
whom he ascribes all of these evils. 



86 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

In the same year, several persons were imprisoned and punished 
for treasonable expressions. The council was now as servile as 
the governor could wish, and he proceeded without interruption in 
his system of arbitrary innovation upon the established usages of 
the colony, and the liberties of its citizens. 

The province of New York belonged to the king as proprietor as 
N 10 1 fiS7 ^®^^ ^^ sovereign ; and, in order to strengthen this 
' ' his own estate, he sent orders for all the other colo- 

nies to assist in building forts, and supplying garrisons for its west- 
ern frontier, alleging that these measures were equally necessary 
for the protection of all. In conformity to these orders a message 
was received from governor Dungan, requiring the quota of Vir- 
ginia ; but the legislature refused to appropriate a man or a far- 
thing for purposes from which they were to derive no benefit, but 
rather an injury, as the protection of the north-western frontier 
would drive the Indians further south, where they might commit 
their depredations upon the unprotected citizens with more im- 
punity. 

While the colony was contending against their governor, a revo- 
1 fiSQ lution in England had dethroned the sovereign, and placed 
* William and Mary upon the throne. This change, while it 
placed the council, which had made many loyal professions to 
James, in an awkward position, was an event producing unalloyed 
joy to the people of Virginia, as they could now hope for justice to 
be done to their oppressive governor. 

Soon after this occurrence, the war broke out between the allied 
powers and Louis XIV. of France, and the colony was ordered to 
place itself in the best posture of defence. 

The complaints of the Virginia legislature against their gover- 
nor at length were taken up by the privy.council, and although the 
charges against Howard were not tried, yet redress against his 
usurpation was granted, at the same time that the principles upon 
which they contended that their rights had been violated, were de- 
nied to be correct. Howard pleading ill-health, was not deprived 
of his commission for not returning to the colony ; but as it was ne- 
cessary that there should be a governor upon the eve of a war. 
Sir Francis Nicholson was sent over. His conduct was mild and 
conciliatory, and consequently popular ; among other highly benefi- 
cial acts passed under his government, was one for the establish- 
ment of a college, which was very liberally endowed. 

He was succeeded by Sir Edmund Andros as governor-in-chief, 
•=5 t 90 1 FQ9 ^^° ^^ represented to have been actuated in his 

P' ' ' administration by a sound judgment and a liberal 

policy ; to have been exact, diligent, and methodical in the manage- 
ment of business ; of a conciliatory deportment, and great gener- 
osity. Sir Francis Nicholson was again made governor-in-chief, 
in November, 1698. He was an ambitious man, who had served 
in the capacity of a governor and deputy governor in several of 
the colonies, and taken great pains to become popular, and to make 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 87 

himself well acquainted with the situation of all the colonies, 
their wants, their trade, and their capabilities, with a view to 
unite them, if possible, under one government, over which he hoped 
to obtain the appointment of governor-general. The pressure of 
war, with the combined force of the French and Indians, which 
seemed now about to fall upon the colonies, and rendered some 
union necessary for the purpose of defence, seemed highly favora- 
ble to his design. 

The French, at an early day, conceived a correct idea of the 
importance of the British colonies in America. The Count De 
Callier, governor of Montreal, during his residence in Canada, after 
a long experience, derived from observations on the spot, had formed 
the bold project of separating in two the English colonies by the 
capture of New York. The success of this scheme would mani- 
festly have destroyed that concert so necessary to harmony and 
efficiency of co-operation, and left the other colonies liable to be 
cut off in detail, and would effectually establish the safety of 
Canada, by enabling the French to keep in check the powerful 
savage confederation, composed of the Five Nations, which had 
lately, by a furious irruption, laid waste the country, even to the 
gates of Montreal and Quebec. This plan of Callier's was adopted 
S t 1 fiQ2 ^y ^^^ French government. A fleet was sent to the 

" ' * bay of New York, with orders to retain possession of 

it until December, when, if no further orders were received, it was 
to sail for Port Royal, land its munition and stores, and return to 
France. The land force were to have marched from Quebec by 
the route of the Sorel River and Lake Champlain. This expedi- 
tion was defeated by a destructive inroad of the Five Nations, 
which carried death and desolation over the whole country, even 
to the very gates of the capital. This unforeseen occurrence ren- 
dered it necessary to retain the whole force at home, in measures 
of self-defence, and saved New York, without her having to strike 
a blow in her own behalf. 

The British government, daily becoming more sensible of the 
importance of the North American colonies, and seeing the danger 
to which they were exposed by the plan of De Callier, set on foot 
a plan of general defence in the year 1695, adjusting the quotas 
of each colony to the ratio of its population, and forwarding the 
scale to the different governors, to recommend for the adoption of 
the respective colonial assemblies. Several of the colonies re- 
jected this scheme, because several of those which were thought 
most exposed wished to employ it as their own interest dictated. 
Among the refractory was Virginia, which could not be pre- 
vailed upon, by all the art and ingenuity of the governor, aided by 
his great enthusiasm in this his favorite plan, to vote a cent to 
the enterprise, to his inconceivable chagrin and mortification. 
Nicholson, finding his own efforts utterly unavailing, laid the mat- 
ter before the king, and urged the propriety of forcing Virginia to 
see her true interests upon this occasion. William, in reply, recom- 



88 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

mended a new consideration of the matter by the General Assem- 
bly, alleging, upon the authority of Nicholson's report, " that New- 
York was the barrier of Virginia against the Indians and French 
of Canada ; and as such, it was but justice she should defend 
it." The assembly deemed it but due respect to his majesty to 
take the subject again into consideration, but found no reason to 
change their former opinion, declaring " that neither the forts then 
in being, nor any others that might be built in the province of 
New York, could in the least avail in the defence or security of 
Virginia ; for that either the French, or the northern Indians, might 
invade the colony, and not come within a hundred miles of such 
fort." 

The failure of this great subject irritated the governor beyond 
expression ; and excited in his mind the most inordinate antipathy 
to the assembly. He charged the conduct of the assembly to a 
spirit of rebellion, and inveighed against what he called its parsi- 
mony, in the most unmeasured terms, offering to pay the quota of 
Virginia out of his own pocket, and boasting afterwards that he 
had done it ; but, at the same time, taking the obligation of the 
gentleman to whom he gave the bills, that no use should be made 
of them until the queen should remit money to pay them. This 
affectation of generosity was designed to gain popularity with the 
other colonies. 



CHAPTER VI. 

EVENTS FROM THE YEAR 1705 TO THE TERMINATION OF THE FRENCH AND 

INDIAN WAR. 

Gov, Nicholson superseded by Nott, and he by Jennings. — Administration of Gov. 
Spotswood — he effects a passage over the Blue Ridge. — Drysdale governor — suc- 
ceeded by Gooch. — Death of Rev. James Blair. — Notice of Col. Wm. Byrd. — Gooch's 
charge to the Grand Jury, against Presbyterians, Methodists, SfC. — Burning of the 
Capitol at Williamsburg. — Revision of the Colonial Laws. — Departure of Gooch. — 
Dinwiddie governor. — Encroachments of the French. — Mission of George Washing- 
ton beyond the Alleganies, to the French Commandant of a Fort — its inauspicious 
results. — Gov. Dinwiddie prepares to repel the encroachments of the French — Expe. 
dition against them under Col. Fry, and the erection of Fort Duquesne. — Washing- 
ton's skirmish with Jumonville — he erects Fort Necessity — he surrenders to the 
French, and marches back to Virginia. — The Burgesses pass a vote of thanks toj^im. 
Gov. Dinwiddie resolves to prosecute the war — the futility of his projects. — Arrival 
of Gen. Braddock. — Braddock's d'efeat. — Bravery of Washington and the Virginia 
troops. — Frontiers open to incursions from the savages. — Fauquier governor. — 
Troops destined for the conquest of Duquesne rendezvous at Raystown. — Defeat of 
Major Grant, and heroism of Capt. Bullet. — Fort Duquesne evacuated. — End of the 
War. 

The first half of the eighteenth century, to the breaking out of 
the French and Indian war, is extremely barren of incident in the 
history of Virginia. Very little more can be given than a list of 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 89 

the various colonial governors, with the dates of their appoint- 
ments and removals, and a synopsis of their characters. This 
brevity arises from the fact that it vi^as mainly a time of peace, 
M^hich usually leaves but little of striking incident to record, of 
marked interest to the general reader, — although a narration of 
laws, and causes which advance or retard the welfare of society, 
or those things which exhibit a true portraiture of it, would arrest 
the attention of the political economist, and, to some degree, of all. 
Again, the annals of Virginia, during this period, are brief and 
unsatisfactory ; and, doubtless, much highly valuable material is, 
in consequence, forever lost. Probably a thorough inspection of 
documents in possession of the British government would throw 
much light upon this period, and the colonial history of Virginia 
generally, and settle some points which, for lack of information, 
are now in controversy. 

Gov. Nicholson continued in office until 1705, when he was su- 
perseded by Edward Nott, who survived his appointment but a 
few months. The death of Nott devolved the government on Ed- 
mund Jennings, the president, and the council. A commission, 
meanwhile, had issued, appointing Brigadier Gen. Hunter lieuten- 
ant-governor, under the Earl of Orkney ; but he having been 
taken on his passage by the French, Col. Alexander Spots wood 
was appointed his successor. His administration commenced in 
1710. He was an accomplished and enterprising man ; and had 
his suggestions to the British ministry been fully and promptly 
executed, they would have proved highly useful to the interests of 
Britain in America, at a time when France was endeavoring to 
wrest from her the trade and riches of the new world. Early in 
his administration, Spotswood, at the head of a troop of horse, 
effected a passage over the Blue Ridge, which had previously been 
considered an impenetrable barrier to the ambition of the whites, 
and discovered the beautiful valley which lies beyond. In com- 
memoration of this event, he received from the king the honor of 
knighthood, and was presented with a miniature golden horse- 
shoe, on which was inscribed the motto, " Sic jurat transcendere 
■monies" — " Thus he swears to cross the mountains." 

In 1723, Spotswood was succeeded by Sir Hugh Drysdale. In 
1739, when hostilities were commenced against Spain, and soon 
after against France, Spotswood was again called into service, 
and honored with the command of the colonial troops ; but he did 
not live to enjoy the returning smiles of royal favor. Drysdale 
was succeeded in office by Gooch, a brigadier-general on the Brit- 
ish establishment, who passed acts of the Assembly for the first 
time in 1727. During his administration, he commanded the colo- 
nial troops in the unsuccessful expedition against Carthagena. In 
1743, died the Rev. James Blair, the first president of William and 
Mary. He was an eminent and learned divine, to whose exer- 
tions the institution owed much of its prosperity. His death oc- 
casioned a vacancy in the council, which was filled by William 

12 



90 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

Fairfax, son of the proprietor of the Northern Neck. Col. Wm. 
Byrd, also a member of the council, died about this period. He 
was a wealthy gentleman, of extensive acquirements^, and one of 
the commissioners who had been appointed to run the dividing line 
between Virginia and North Carolina. His journal of the survey, 
which has descended to our times, is " marked by a spirit of unaf- 
fected humor, that does equal honor to his heart and understand- 
ing." 

In April, 1745, Gov. Gooch made an address to the grand jury 
of the General Court, in opposition to the Presbyterians, Method- 
ists, and other denominations of Christians, who had at this time 
become numerous in Virginia. It illustrates the state of religious 
intolerance at that time, and, singular as it may seem to us of the 
present day, it met with the approval of the most gifted minds in 
the colony, " among whom were some that afterwards became dis- 
tinguished champions of an unqualified freedom in every thing that 
related to the human mind."* 

In the year 1746, the public buildings in Williamsburg were 
burnt ; and the subject was shortly after agitated of removing the 
seat of government to some more central part of the colony. In 
the session of 1748, the assembly appointed the following named 
gentlemen a committee to revise the colonial laws : — Peyton Ran- 
dolph, Philip Ludwell, Beverly Whiting, Carter Bur well, and Ben- 
jamin Waller. Gooch, who had been governor of Virginia for 
upwards of 20 years, sailed for England in 1749, " amidst the bless- 
ings and tears of the people, among whom he had lived as a 
wise and beneficent father." The government now devolved on 
Robinson, the president of the council. At his death a few days 
after, Thomas Lee, who had succeeded him in the presidency, was 
advanced to the chair of government. 

In the year 1752, Governor Dinwiddle arrived in Virginia. Since 
the failure of De Callier's design upon New York, in 1692, the 
French in Canada and Louisiana, acting in concert, continued to 
extend their forts and strengthen their power by alliances with the 
Indians : thus at once endeavoring to unite their possessions, to 
monopolize the Indian trade, and to limit the British settlements. 
Gov. Dinwiddle, viewing with just alarm the encroachments of 
the French, in Oct., 1753, dispatched George Washington, then 
but 21 years of age, on a mission to the French commandant of 
a fort on a branch of French Creek, about 15 miles south of 
Lake Erie. 

This commission was delicate and hazardous, and required experience in the modes 
of travelling through the woods, and a knowledge of the Indian character. The dis- 
tance was nearly 600 miles, over rugged mountains and mostly through a howling wil- 
derness. The party consisted of eight persons: Jacob Vanbraam, interpreter, Mr. 
Gist, guide, and four others, two of whom were Indian traders. After much toil in an 
inclement season, in marching over snow-covered mountains and crossing rivers on frail 
rafts, they at length reached the junction of the Monongahela' with the Allegany. 
Washington examined the place, and by his recommendation the fortification was erected 
there that afterwards became so mucli celebrated. 



* For this address see Burke's History of Va., vol. III.j p. 119. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 91 

Twenty miles Tbelow the Forks of the Ohio, at Logstown, he called together some of 
the Indian chiefs and delivered to them the governor's message, soliciting a guard to the 
French encampments. The principal sachem was Tanacharison, alias the Half-King. 
The sachems having met in council, Washington addressed them, explaining the objects 
of his mission. The Half-King made a pacific reply, and, in company with him and 
three other Indians, Washington finally set off and reached the French fort. M. de St. 
Pierre, the commandant, received him courteously. Washington presented his commis- 
sion and letter from Gov. Dinwiddie. This letter asserted that the lands on the Ohio 
belonged to the British crown, and urged a speedy and peaceful departure of the French. 
St. Pierre's reply was respectful, but uncomplying and determined. He said that the 
message should have been sent to the French governor in Canada, and that he would 
not retire unless ordered by him. While there, Washington was very politely enter- 
tained ; but the French commandant used artifice to detain the Indians. Finally, after 
much perplexity, the whole party embarked in a canoe on their return, and proceeded 
down as far as Venango, which they reached in six days. The passage was full of 
peril from rocks, shallows, and drifting trees. At Venango they found their horses, in 
an emaciated condition. To lighten their burden, Washington proceeded on foot, in an 
Indian walking dress, in company with Messrs. Gist and Vanbraam, the horses being 
under the direction of the drivers. After three days travel, Washington, with Mr. Gist, 
left the party and went on ahead, each with a loaded knapsack and a gun. The next 
day they met an Indian, whom they engaged to pilot them to the forks of the Allegany. 
The Indian acted very suspiciously, and it was soon conjectured from his conduct that 
he intended to murder them. They managed, however, to get rid of him, and travelled 
all night. The next evening, at dusk, they arrived at the Allegany river. Weary and 
exhausted, they passed the night on the bank, making their bed on the snow, and ex- 
posed to the inclemencies of the weather. When morning arrived they prepared to 
cross the river. 

" Ther« was no way of getting over," says Washington, " but on a raft ; which we 
set about making with but one poor hatchet, and finished just after sunsetting. This 
was a whole day's work. We next got it launched, and went on board of it ; then set 
oiF. But, before we were half way over, we were jammed in the ice in such a manner, 
that we expected every moment our raft would sink, and ourselves perish. I put out 
my setting-pole to try to stop the raft, that the ice might pass by ; when the rapidity of 
the stream threw it with so much violence against the pole, that it jerked me out into 
ten feet water. But I fortunately saved myself by catching hold of one of the raft- 
logs. Notwithstanding all our efforts, we could not get the raft to either shore, but 
were obliged, as we were near an island, to quit our raft and make to it." 

This was a desert island. They passed the night in extreme suffering, from the in- 
tense cold, and Mr. Gist's hands and feet were frozen. When morning dawned, a 
gleam of hope appeared. The ice had congealed to the eastern shore sufficiently hard 
to allow them to cross to it. At length, after an absence of sixteen weeks, they arrived 
at Williamsburg. 

The intentions of the French being now understood, the Gov- 
ernor of Virginia acted with energy to resist their encroachments. 
The journal of Washington was also published. It was reprinted 
in London, and considered by the government as unfolding the 
hostile views of the French, and the first proof of their intentions. 
A regiment was raised in Virginia, under the command of Colonel 
Joshua Fry, for the purpose of erecting a fort at the forks of the 
Ohio. Washington was appointed second in command, with the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel. A small party of Captain Trent's 
company was hastily sent forward to commence the fort, but were 
interrupted by the arrival of Captain Contrecoeur, with a thousand 
French and Indians, who drove away the English, and erected 
Fort Duquesne. This was the first act of open hostility. The news 
reached Colonel Washington while he was posted, at Will's creek 
(at which place Fort Cumberland was afterwards erected) with 
three companies, waiting the arrival of Colonel Fry with the 



92 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

remainder of the regiment and the artillery. He wrote immedi- 
ately for reinforcements, and pushed forward with his companies 
towards the Monongahela, as fast as the process of cutting a new 
road through the wilderness would permit. His intention was to 
reach the mouth of Redstone, there to wait for the arrival of the 
artillery and reinforcements under Colonel Fry, and then drop 
down the Monongahela by water, to the Forks. He had designed 
to descend the Yough'ogheny, but after an examination of the 
falls, abandoned the design. 

" Learning that the French were coming out to meet him, Washington hurried for- 
ward to the Great Meadows, and threw up a hasty intrenchment. This place is ten 
miles east from Uniontown, a few rods south of the present national road, between the 
fifty-second and fifty-third miles from Cumberland. Commanded, as it is, by elevated 
ground on both sides, within one hundred yards of the fort, it would seem to be injudi- 
ciously chosen for defence ; but Washington knew the French and Indians could bring 
no artillery, and the meadows being entirety free from timber, the enemy would be com- 
pelled to emerge upon the open plain, beyond the protection of the woods, before he 
could efficiently attack the fort. Washington learned from Tanacharison, the half-king, 
a chief of the Six Nations, and from Mr. Gist, that La Force was out, from Fort 
Duquesne, with a party of French and Indians, and their tracks had been seen within 
five miles of the Great Meadows. He immediately dispatched a party of seventy-five 
on horseback, to reconnoitre their position, but they were not to be found. Washington 
writes on 29th May, 1754 : 

" About nine o'clock the same night, I received an express from the half-king, who 
was encamped with several of his people about six miles off, that he had seen the tracks 
of two Frenchmen crossing the road ; and that, behind, the whole body were lying not 
far off, as he had an account of that number passing Mr. Gist's. I set out with forty 
men before ten, and it was from that time till near sunrise before we reached the In- 
dians' camp, having marched in small paths through a heavy rain, and a night as dark 
as it is possible to conceive. We were frequently tumbling one over another, and 
often so lost that fifteen or twenty minutes' search would not find the path again." 

" When we came to the half-king, I counselled with him, and got his assent to go hand 
in hand and strike the French. Accordingly he, Monocawacha, and a few other In- 
dians, set out with us, and when we came to the place where the tracks were, the half- 
king sent two Indians to follow their tracks, and discover their lodgment, which they 
did at half a mile from the road, in a very obscure place surrounded with rocks. I 
thereupon, in conjunction with the half-king and Monocawacha, formed a disposition 
to attack them on all sides — which we accordingly did ; and, after an engagement of 
about fifteen minutes, we killed ten, wounded one, and took twenty-one prisoners. The 
principal oflicers taken, are M, Drouillon and M. La Force, of whom your honor has 
often heard me speak, as a bold, enterprising man, and a person of great subtlety and 
cunning. With these are two cadets." 

" In this engagement we had only one man killed, and two or three wounded, (among 
whom was Lieutenant Waggener, slightly) — a: most miraculous escape, as our right 
wing was much exposed to their fire, and received it all." 

In his journal he had also noted ; 

" As I marched on with the prisoners, (after the action,) they informed me that they 
had been sent with a summons for me to depart — a specious pretext, that they might 
discover our camp, and reconnoitre our force and situation. This was so evident, that 
I was astonished at their assurance in telling me that they came as an embassy. By 
their instructions, they were to obtain a knowledge of the roads, rivers, and country, as 
far as the Potomac. Instead of coming as ambassadors — public, and in an open man- 
ner — they came secretly, and sought out the most hidden retreats, much better suited for 
deserters than ambassadors. Here they encamped ; here they remained concealed for 
whole days together, within five miles of us. They sent out spies to reconnoitre our 
camp. The whole body then moved back two miles. Thence they sent messengers, 
as directed in the instructions, to acquaint M. Contrecoeur with the place we were in, 
and with our disposition, that he might forward his detachments to enforce the summons 
as soon as it should be given. An ambassador has no need of spies ; his character is 
always sacred. Since they had so good an intention, whv should they remain two 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 93 

days within five miles of us, without giving me notice of the summons, or of any thing 
which related to their embassy ? This alone would be sufficient to raise the strongest 
suspicions ; and the justice is certainly due them, that, as they wished to conceal 
themselves, they could not have chosen better places than they did." 

" They pretend that they called to us, eis soon as we were discovered ; which is abso- 
lutely false — for I was at the head of the party in approaching them, and I can affirm, 
that as soon as they saw us they ran to their arms, without calling, which I should have 
heard if they had done so." 

And in a subsequent letter to Governor Dinwiddie, Washington says, speaking of 
some deserters from the French : " These deserters corroborate what the others said, 
and we suspected. La Force's party were sent out as spies, and were to show that 
summons if discovered or overpowered by a superior party of ours. They say the 
commander was blamed for sending so small a party."* 

" Washington having sent his prisoners to the governor, prepared his intrenchments, by 
erecting a stockade, for receiving a more formidable attack from the French, which he 
had good reason to expect, after they should have heard of the loss of Jumonville's 
party. To this stockade he gave the name of Fort Necessity. Colonel Fry had died 
in Virginia, and the chief command devolved on Colonel Washington. Captain Mackay, 
of the royal army, with an independent company of one hundred men, arrived at the 
Great Meadows. Washington, leaving him in command of the fort, pushed on over 
Laurel-hill, cutting the road with extreme labor through the wilderness, as far as Gist's 
plantation. This tedious march occupied them two weeks. During the march, they 
were joined by the Half-king, and a numerous body of Indians, with their families, who 
had espoused the English cause. 

" A strong detachment was at length announced, as being on their march from Fort 
Duquesne, under the command of Monsieur de Villiers. It was at first determined to 
receive them at Gist's ; but on further information of the enemy's force, supposed to 

* " No transaction in the life of Washington has been so much misrepresented, or so 
little understood, as this skirmish with Jumonville. It being the first conflict of arms 
in the war, a notoriety was given to it, particularly in Europe, altogether disproportioned 
to its importance. War had not yet been declared between Great Britain and France, 
and, indeed, the diplomatists on both sides were making great professions of friendship. 
It was the policy of each nation to exaggerate the proceedings of the other on their 
colonial frontiers, and to make them a handle for recrimination and complaints, by 
throwing upon the adverse party the blame of committing the first acts of aggression. 
Hence, when the intelligence of the skirmish with Jumonville got to Paris, it was offi- 
cially published by the government, in connection with a memoir and various papers ; 
and his death was called a murder. It was said, that while bearing a summons, as a 
civil messenger, without any hostile intentions, he was waylaid and assassinated. The 
report was industriously circulated, and gained credence with the multitude. Mr. 
Thomas, a poet, and scholar of repute, seized the occasion to write an epic, entitled, 
' Jumonville,' in which he tasked his invention to draw a tragical picture of the fate 
of his hero. The fabric of the story, and the incidents, were alike fictitious. But the 
tale passed from fiction to history, and to this day it is repeated by the French histo- 
rians, who in other respects render justice to the character of Washington ; and who 
can find no other apology for this act than his youth and inexperience, and the ferocity 
of his men. 

" The mistakes of the French writers were not unknown to Washington ; but, con- 
scious of having acted in strict conformity with his orders and military usage, he took 
no pains to correct them, except in a single letter to a friend, written several years 
afterwards, which related mostly to the errors in the French account of the subsequent 
action of the Great Meadows. Unfortunately, all his correspondence, and the other 
papers which he wrote during this campaign, were lost the next year at the battle of the 
Monongahela, and he was thus deprived of the only authentic materials that could be 
used for explanation and defence. The most important of these papers have recently 
been found, [by Mr. Sparks, in his researches in England,] and they afford not only a 
complete vindication of Colonel Washington in this affair, but show that it met with 
the unqualified approbation of the governor and legislature of Virginia, and of the 
British ministry." — Sparks' Life and Writings of Washington — where the incidents 
of this campaign are ably and fully delineated, and the conduct of Washington, both in 
this affair and the capitulation at the Great Meadows, are clearly explained and trU 
umphantly vindicated against the charges of the French. 



94 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

be nine hundred men, it was determined to retreat to Fort Necessity, and, if possible, 
to Wills' creek. Their provisions were short, their horses worn down, and it was 
with excessive labor and fatigue that they reached the fort, after a forced march of two 
days. Here only a small quantity of flour was found ; but supplies were hourly ex- 
pected, and it was therefore determined to fortify the place as well as circumstances 
would permit, and abide the event. 

" On the 3d July the enemy appeared, and commenced firing from the woods, but 
without efTect. Washington had drawn up his men outside of the fort, with the 
view of inviting an encounter in the open field. This the French and Indians 
declined, hoping to draw him into the woods. It rained constantly during the day, 
and the muskets became wet, and were used with difficulty. Washington's troops 
withdrew within the trenches, and fired as opportunities occurred. In the evening 
the French proposed a parley, which Washington at first declined, suspecting a design 
to gain an entrance to the fort, and discover his weakness ; but he afterwards consented 
to send an officer to them. Captain Vanbraam, a Dutchman, who pretended to un- 
ierstand French, was sent to them, and returned with proposals, in the French lan- 
guage, for capitulation. These proposals, after being modified in some particulars by 
the besieged party, were agreed to. The garrison was to be permitted to leave the fort 
with the honors of war, taking their baggage, except their artillery, with them. They 
were not to be molested by the French, nor, as far as it could be prevented, by the In- 
dians. Since their cattle and horses had been killed in the action, they were to be permitted 
to conceal such of their effects as could not be carried away, and to leave a guard with 
them until they could return with horses to take them away ; but on condition that 
they should not, within one year, attempt any establishment there, or on that side of the 
mountains. The prisoners taken at the time of Jmnonville's death,* were to be re- 
turned, and Captains Vanbraam and Stobo were to be retained by the French as hos- 
tages, until the return of the prisoners.! On the following morning, Washington, with 

* " In the French proposals this expression was insidiously written, ' a I'assassinat de 
M. Jumanville ;' and as Vanbraam, the stupid interpreter, did not explain the force 
of the expression to Washington, the capitulation was signed in that shape.'' 

t It seems (according to Burke) that La Force, one of the prisoners taken by Wash- 
ington in the skirmish in May, had made strenuous exertions to instigate the Indians to 
hostilities, and that he had been travelling on the frontiers of Virginia to obtain informa- 
tion of its resources. When taken, there were found upon him papers, in part disclos- 
ing the designs and policy of France. 

Viewing him in the character of a spy, Governor Duivvrijie threw him into prison at 
Williamsburg. To redeem this man, was the principal design of De Villier in demand- 
ing these hostages. La Force escaped from prison, and the people of the country were 
alarmed. " The opinion," says Burke, " that before prevailed of his extraordinary address 
and activity, his desperate courage, and fertility in resources, was by this new feat wrought 
into a mingled agony of terror and astonishment. Already had he reached King and 
Queen courthouse, without any knowledge of the country through which he passed, 
without a compass, and not daring to ask a question, when he attracted the notice of a 
back-woodsman. Their route lay the same way ; and it occurred to La Force, that by 
the friendship and fidelity of this man, he might escape in spite of the difficulties and 
dangers of his situation. Some questions proposed by La Force, relative to the distance 
and direction of Fort Duquesne, confirmed the woodsman in his suspicions, and he arrest, 
ed him as he was about to cross the ferry at West Point. In vain did La Force tempt 
the woodsman with an immediate ofTer of money, and with promises of wealth and pre- 
ferment, on condition that he accompanied him to Fort Duquesne. He was proof against 
every allurement, inconsistent with his duty, and he led him back to Williamsburg. The 
condition of La Force, after this attempt, became in the highest degree distressing. He 
was loaded with a double weight of irons, and chained to the floor of his dungeon. 

" Such was the situation of affairs when Colonel Washington, after his resignation, ar- 
rived in Williamsburg. Here, for the first time, he heard of the imprisonment and per- 
secution of La Force, and he felt himself compelled to remonstrate with Mr. Dinwiddle 
against them, as an infraction of the articles of capitulation, and of the laws of honor 
acknowledged by soldiers. His application was strongly backed by the syrnpathy of the 
people, which now began to run strongly in favor of the prisoner ; but the governor was 
inexorable. Meanwhile, the hostages, Stobo and Vanbraam, had been ordered, for 
greater security, to Quebec, and in retaliation of the sufferings of La Force, they too were 
confined in prison, but without any additional severity. Almost at the same moment 
that La Force had broken his prison, Stobo and Vanbraam, by efforts equally extraor- 



OUTLrXE HISTORY. 95 

the garrison, left the fort, taking such baggage as they could carry, and transporting 
the wounded upon their backs. The Indians, contrary to the stipulation, annoyed them 
exceedingly, and pilfered their baggage. After a toilsome march, they at length arrived 
at Wills' creek, where they found rest and refreshment." 

From thence Washington proceeded to Williamsburg, and com- 
municated the events of the campaign to Governor Dinwiddie. 

As soon as the House of Bargesses assembled, they passed a 
vote of thanks to Col. Washington and his officers, for their brave- 
ry and gallant conduct. Thus ended the first campaign of Wash- 
ington. " Although as yet a mere youth, with small experience, 
unskilled in war, and relying on his own resources, he had behaved 
with the prudence, address, courage, and firmness of a veteran 
commander. Rigid in discipline, but sharing the hardships, and 
solicitous for the welfare of his soldiers, he had secured their obe- 
dience and won their esteem, amidst privations, sufferings, and 
perils, that have seldom been surpassed." 

Gov. Dinwiddie resolved to prosecute the war, but being wholly 
ignorant of military affairs, his preliminary measures, in underta- 
king to organize an army, were injudicious. In August, he wrote 
to Washington, who was at Winchester, to fill up the companies 
of his regiment by enlistment, and lead them without delay to 
Wills' creek, where Col. Innes, with some troops from the Caro- 
linas and New York, were building Fort Cumberland. From 
thence, it was the governor's project that the united forces should 
immediately cross the Alleganies and drive the French from Fort 
Duquesne, or build another fort beyond the mountains. Washing- 
ton, astonished at the absurdity of the scheme, contemplated at a 
season when the mountains would be covered with snow, and the 
army enfeebled and destitute of supplies, made such a strong re- 
monstrance that the project was abandoned. 

The governor was opposed by the assembly, who would not yield 
to all his demands, and he never ceased to complain of their " re- 
publican way of thinking." He had lately prorogued them, to 
punish their obstinacy, and wrote to the ministry that he was sat- 
isfied the French would never be effectually opposed unless the 
colonies were compelled, independently of assemblies, to contribute 
to the common cause. When the Burgesses again met, they con- 
tributed £20,000 for the public service, which was soon increased 
to £30,000 by specie sent from England. 

In possession of funds, the governor now enlarged the army to- 
ten companies of 100 men each, and placed them upon the estab- 
lishment of independent companies, by which the highest officers 
in the Virginia regiment, among whom was Washington, woald be 

dinary, had escaped from Quebec, and were passing the causeway leading from the city,. 
at the moment that the governor of Canada was airing in his carriage. Stobo succeeded 
in effecting his escape ; but Vanbraam, fainting with fatigue and hunger, and despairing 
of being able to effect his escape, called out to the governor from beneath the arch of the 
causeway, where he concealed himself, and desired to surrender. The governor received 
him in his carriage, and remanded him to prison, but without any extraordinary severity. 
Even these facts were not unknown to Mr. Dinwiddle ; yet, without being touched by 
so generous an example, he persisted in his unjustifiable rigor towards La Force." 



96 OUTLINK HISTORY. 

captains. He thereupon resigned his commission and retired from 
the service. 

Early in the ensuing spring, (1755,) Major-Gen. Edward Brad- 
dock arrived in the country with the 44th and 48th regiments of 
royal troops, under Sir Peter Halkett and Col. Dunbar. The peo- 
ple seemed elated with joy, and in their imagination the intruding 
French seemed about to be driven back like a torrent upon the 
frontiers of Canada. Col. Washington, who now was to take an 
active part in the fearful scenes to be enacted, accepted the ap- 
pointment of aid-de-camp to Gen. Braddock. At Wills' Creek, 
(Fort Cumberland,) the royal forces were joined by about 1000 
Virginians, but the army was detained for want of horses, wagons, 
and forage. By the energy of Dr. Franklin, then postmaster-gen- 
eral of the provinces, the deficiency was supplied. The army mov- 
ed at length on the 8th and 9th of June, but soon found them- 
selves so encumbered with baggage and wagons, that it was de- 
termined, at the suggestion of Washington, to divide the force, 
pushing forward a small, but chosen band, with such artillery and 
light stores as were necessary, leaving the heavy artillery, bag- 
gage, &c., to follow by slow and easy marches. 

The general, with 1,200 chosen men, and Sir Peter Halkett, as brigadier, Lieut. Col. 
Gage, (afterwards Gen. Gage,) Lieut. Col. Burton, and Major Sparks, went forward, 
leaving Col. Dunbar to follow with the remainder of the troops and baggage. Col. 
Washington, who had been very ill with a fever, was left in charge of Col. Dunbar, but 
with a promise from Gen. Braddock that he should be brought up with the advanced 
corps before they reached Fort Duquesne. He joined it at the mouth of the Yough'- 
ogheny, on the 8th July. On the 9th, the day of Braddock's defeat, he says, " I at- 
tended the general on horseback, though very low and weak. The army crossed to the 
left bank of the Monongahela, a little below the mouth of Yough'ogheny, being prevent- 
ed by rugged hills from continuing along the right bank to the fort." 

" Washington was often heard to say during his lifetime, that the most beautiful spec- 
tacle he ever beheld was the display of the British troops on this eventful morning. — 
Every man was neatly dressed in full uniform ; the soldiers were arranged in columns 
and marched in exact order ; the sun gleamed from their burnished arms ; the river 
flowed tranquilly on their right, and the deep forest overshadowed them with solemn 
grandeur on their left. Officers and men were equally inspirited with cheering hopes and 
confident anticipations." 

" In this manner they marched forward until about noon, when they arrived at the 
second crossing place, ten miles from Fort Duquesne. They halted but a little time, and 
then began to ford the river and regain its northern bank. As soon as they had crossed 
they came upon a level plain, elevated only a few feet above the surface of the river, and 
extending northward nearly half a mile from its margin. Then commenced a gradual 
ascent at an angle of about three degrees, which terminated in hills of a considerable 
height at no great distance beyond. The road from the fording place to Fort Duquesne 
led across the plain and up this ascent, and thence proceeded through an uneven country 
at that time covered with wood. 

" By the order of march, a body of 300 men under Col. Gage made the advanced 
party, which was immediately followed by another of 200. Next came the general with 
the columns of artillery, the main body of the army, and the baggage. At one o'clock, 
the whole had crossed the river, and almost at this moment a sharp firing was heard upon 
the advanced parties, who were now ascending the hill, and had proceeded about a hun- 
dred yards from the termination of the plain. A heavy discharge of musketry was 
poured in upon their front, which was the first intelligence they had of the proximity of 
an enemy, and this was suddenly followed by another on the right flank. They were 
filled with the greater consternation, as no enemy was in sight, and the firing seemed to 
proceed from an invisible foe. They fired in turn, however, but quite at random, and 
obviously without effect. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 97 

" The general hastened forward to the relief of the advanced parties ; but before he 
could reach the spot which they occupied, they gave way and fell back upon the artil- 
lery and the other columns of the army, causing extreme confusion, and striking the 
whole mass with such a panic that no order could afterwards be restored. The general 
and the officers behaved with the utmost courage, and used every effort to rally the men, 
and bring them to order, but all in vain. In this state they continued nearly three hours, 
huddled together in confused bodies, firing irregularly, shooting down their own officers 
and men, and doing no perceptible harm to the enemy. The Virginia* provincials were 
the only troops who seemed to retain their senses, and they behaved with a bravery and 
resolution worthy of a better fate. They adopted the Indian mode, and fought each 
man for himself, behind a tree. This was prohibited by the general, who endeavored to 
form his men into platoons and columns, as if they had been manoeuvring on the plains 
of Flanders. Meantime the French and Indians, concealed in the ravines and behind 
trees, kept up a deadly and unceasing discharge of musketry, singling out their objects, 
taking deliberate aim, and producing a carnage almost unparalleled in the annals of 
modern warfare. The general himself received a mortal wound,t and many of his best 
officers fell by his side. 

" During the whole of the action, as reported by an officer who witnessed his conduct, 
Col. Washington behaved with ' the greatest courage and resolution.' Captains Orme 
and Morris, the two other aids-de-camp, were wounded and disabled, and the duty of 
distributing the general's orders devolved on him alone. He rode in every direction, and 
was a conspicuous mark for the enemy's sharpshooters. ' By the all-powerful dispensa- 

* Washington said — " The Virginia troops showed a good deal of bravery, and were 
nearly all killed ; for, I believe, out of three companies that were there, scarcely 30 men 
are left alive. Capt. Peyrouny, and all his officers down to a corporal, were killed. 
Capt. Poison had nearly as hard a fate, for only one of his was left. In short, the das- 
tardly behavior of those they call regulars, exposed all others that were incHned to do 
their duty, to almost certain death ; and, at last, in despite of all the efforts of the officers 
to the contrary, they ran as sheep pursued by dogs, and it was impossible to rally them. 
.... It is conjectured, (I believe with much truth,) that two-thirds of our killed and 
wounded received their shot from our ov/n cowardly regulars, who gathered themselves 
into a body, contrary to orders, ten or twelve deep — would then level, fire, and shoot down 
the men before them." 

t " There had long existed a tradition that Braddock was killed by one of his own men, 
and more recent developments leave little or no doubt of the fact. A recent writer says : 

" ' When my father was removing with his family to the west, one of the Fausetts 
kept a pubhc house to the eastward from, and near where Uniontown now stands, as 
the county seat of Fayette, Penn. This man's house we lodged in about the tenth of 
October, 1781, twenty-six years and a few months after Braddock's defeat, and there it 
was made any thing but a secret that one of the family dealt the death-blow to the 
British general. 

" ' Thirteen years afterwards I met Thomas Fausett in Fayette co., then, as he told 
me, in his 70th year. To him I put the plain question, and received a plain reply, " / 
did shoot him .'" He then went on to insist, that, by doing so, he contributed to save 
what was left of the army. In brief, in my youth, I never heard the fact either doubted 
or blamed, that Fausett shot Braddock.' 

" Hon. Andrew Stewart, of Uniontown, says he knew, and often conversed with Tom 
Fausett, who did not hesitate to avow, in the presence of his friends, that he shot Gen. 
Braddock. Fausett was a man of gigantic frame, of uncivilized half-savage propensi- 
ties, and spent most of his life among the mountains, as a hermit, living on the game 
which he killed. He would occasionally come into town, and get drunk. Sometimes 
he would repel inquiries into the affair of Braddock's death, by putting his fingers to his 
lips and uttering a sort of buzzing sound ; at others, he would burst into tears, and 
appear greatly agitated by conflicting passions. 

" In spite of Braddock's silly order, that the troops should not protect themselves 
behind trees, Joseph Fausett had taken such a position, when Braddock rode up, in a 
passion, and struck him down with his sword. Tom Fausett, who was but a short dis- 
tance from his brother, saw the whole transaction, and immediately drew up his rifle 
and shot Braddock through the lungs, partly in revenge for the outrage upon his brother, 
and partly, as he always alleged, to get the general out of the way, and thus save the 
remainder of the gallant band, who had been sacrificed to his obstinacy, and want of 
experience in frontier warfare." — Day's Penn. 

13 



98 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

tions of Providence,' said he, in a letter to his brother, ' I have been protected beyond 
all human probability or expectation, for I had four bullets through my coat, and two 
horses shot under me, yet I escaped unhurt, although death was levelling my companions 
on every side of me.'* So bloody a contest has rarely been witnessed. The number of 
officers in the engagement was 86, of whom 26 were killed, and 37 were wounded. 
The killed and wounded of the privates amounted to 714. On the other hand, the 
enemy's loss was small. Their force amounted, at least, to 850 men, of whom 600 were 
Indians. According to the returns, not more than 40 were killed. They fought in 
deep ravines, concealed by the bushes, and the balls of the English passed over their 
heads. 

" The remnant of Braddock's army being put to flight, and having re-crossed the 
river. Col. Washington hastened to meet Col. Dunbar, and order up horses and wagons 
for the wounded. Three days were occupied in retreating to Gist's plantation. The 
enemy did not pursue them. Satiated with carnage and plunder, the Indians could not 
be tempted from the battle-field, and the French were too few to act without their aid. 
The unfortunate general, dying of his wounds, was transported first in a tumbril, then 
on a horse, and at last was carried by the soldiers. He expired the fourth day, and was 
buried in the road near Fort Necessity. A new panic seized the troops ; disorder and 
confusion reigned ; the artillery was destroyed ; the pubhc stores and heavy baggage 
were burnt, no one could tell by whose orders ; nor were discipline and tranquillity re- 
stored, till the straggling and bewildered companies arrived at Fort Cumberland. 

" Such was the termination of an enterprise, one of the most memorable in American 
history, and almost unparalleled for its disasters and the universal disappointment and 
consternation it occasioned. Notwithstanding its total and even disgraceful failure, the 
bitter invectives everywhere poured out against its principal conductors, and the re- 
proaches heaped upon the memory of its ill-fated commander, yet the fame and charac- 
ter of Washington were greatly enhanced by it. It was known that he gave prudent 
counsel to General Braddock, which was httle heeded. During the march, a body of 
Indians offered their services, which, at the earnest request and recommendation of Wash- 
ington, were accepted, but in so cold a manner, and the Indians were treated with so 
much neglect, that they withdrew, one after another, in disgust. On the evening pre- 
ceding the action, they came again to camp and renewed their offer. Again Col. Wash- 
ington interposed, and urged the importance of these men as scouts and outguards, their 
knowledge of the grounds and skill in fighting among woods. Relying on the prowess 
of his regular troops, and disdaining such allies, the general peremptorily refused to re- 
ceive them, in a tone not more decided than ungracious. Had a scouting party of a dozen 
Indians preceded the army after it crossed the Monongahela, they would have detected 
the enemy in the ravines, and reversed the fortunes of the day."t 

After the defeat of Braddock, Col. Dunbar, who succeeded to the 
command, marched his troops to Philadelphia. The whole fron- 
tier, even to the Blue Ridge, was now harassed and horror-strick- 
en by the bloody incursions of the French Indians. Col. Wash- 
ington, in his capacity as adjutant-general of militia, circulated 
orders for them to assemble in their respective districts for exer- 
cise and review. Volunteer companies were organized, and the 
martial spirit of the people revived. Addresses were made to 
them from the pulpit, in one of which, the eloquent Samuel Davies 
of Hanover, after complimenting the bravery shown by the Vir- 
ginia troops, added the following encomium, which seems almost 

* When Washington went to the Ohio, in 1770, to explore wild lands near the mouth 
of the Kenhawa River, he met an aged Indian chief, who told him, through an inter- 
preter, that during the battle of Braddock's field, he had singled him out as a conspicu- 
ous object, fired his rifle at him many times, and directed his young warriors to do the 
same ; but none of his balls took eiFect. He was then persuaded that the young hero 
was under the special guardianship of the Great Spirit, and ceased firing at him. He 
had now come a long way to pay homage to the man who was the particular favorite of 
heaven, and who could never die in battle. 

t Sparks' Life of Washington, from which much important information relating to 
this war is inserted in this chapter. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 99 

pi*ophetic. " As a remarkable instance of this, I may point out to 
the public that heroic youth, Col. Washington, whom I cannot but 
hope Providence has hitherto preserved in so signal a manner for 
some important service to his country." 

In consequence of the desperate state of affairs, Gov. Dinwiddie 
convened the Assembly on the 4th of August. They voted £40,- 
000 for the public service, and enlarged their regiment to sixteen 
companies. Money was also granted to Col. Washington and the 
other officers and privates, " for their gallant behavior and losses," 
in the late disastrous battle. To Col. Washington was given the 
command of all the forces raised and to be raised in Virginia, 
with the unusual privilege of selecting his own field-officers. He 
now applied himself with his wonted energy to the discharge of 
the high responsibility conferred upon him. Lieut. Col. Adam Ste- 
phens, and Major Andrew Lewis, were the field officers next in 
rank. Washington's head quarters were at Winchester. After 
putting affairs in train, he performed a tour of inspection among 
the mountains, visiting all the outposts in the frontier, from Fort 
Cumberland to Fort Dinwiddie, on Jackson's river. He then start- 
ed for Williamsburg, to confer with the governor on the plan of 
operations, when he was overtaken below Fredericksburg by an 
express, announcing a new irruption of the savages upon the back 
settlements. He hastened back, mustered a force, and gave a 
timely and effectual check to the invaders, but not such as to quiet 
the fears of the settlers, many of whom, with their families, fled 
into the lower country, and increased the general terror. 

The defects of the militia system were such as to put the pa- 
tience of Col. Washington to a severe trial. He represented in 
strong language, to the government of the colony, these defects, 
and their fatal consequences, and at last prevailed. A new law 
was passed providing a remedy, but too late in the year for him to 
undertake offensive operations. 

In April of the ensuing year, (1756,) when the Assembly again 
met at Williamsburg, Col. Washington hastened thither to mature 
a plan for defence during the summer. Had the several colonies 
united, the intruding French might have been driven from the 
Ohio ; but local jealousies prevented a union, and Virginia saw 
that the most strenuous exertions were necessary to defend their 
long line of frontier. The Assembly determined to augment the 
army to 1500 men. A bill was passed for drafting militia to sup- 
ply the deficiency of recruits. Col. Washington returned to Win- 
chester. But a few men were stationed there, most of the regi- 
ment being scattered at different posts for the better protection of 
the frontiers. The enemy, encouraged by the successes of the pre- 
ceding year, were continually on the alert, and accounts were 
daily received of fresh massacres by them. Scouting parties, and 
even forts were attacked, and some of the bravest troops killed. 
Serious apprehensions were felt for the safety of Winchester. The 
number of troops was wholly insufficient for the protection of the 



100 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

settlers. Col. Washington, deeply affected by the scenes he wit- 
nessed, addressed a letter to the governor, in which he said : 

" I see their situation, I know their danger, and participate their sufferings, without 
having it in my power to give them further relief than uncertain promises. In short, I 
see inevitable destruction in so clear a hght, that, unless vigorous measures are taken 
by the Assembly, and speedy assistance sent from below, the poor inhabitants now in 
forts must unavoidably fall, while the remainder are flying before the barbarous foe. 
In fine, the melancholy situation of the people, the little prospect of assistance, the gross 
and scandalous abuses cast upon the officers in general, which is reflecting on me in par- 
ticular, for suffering misconduct of such extraordinary kind, and the distant prospect, 
if any, of gaining reputation in the service, cause me to lament the hour that gave me 
a commission, and would induce me, at any other time than this of imminent danger, 
to resign, without one hesitating moment, a command from which I never expect to 
reap either honor or benefit ; but, on the contrary, have almost an absolute certainty of 
incurring displeasure below, while the murder of helpless families may be laid to my ac- 
count here. 

" The supplicating tears of the women, and moving petitions of the men, melt me 
with such deadly sorrow, that I solemnly declare, if I know my own mind, I could offer 
myself a willing sacrifice to the butchering enemy, provided that would contribute to 
the people's ease." 

These agonizing sensations were heightened by base calumnies 
against the army, and indirectly against the commander-in-chief, 
which seemed for a while to gain public credence. 

" By degrees," says Sparks, " the plot was unravelled. The governor, being a Scotch- 
man, was surrounded by a knot of his Caledonian friends, who wished to profit by this 
alliance, and obtain for themselves a larger share of consideration than they could com- 
mand in the present order of things. The discontented, and such as thought their 
merits undervalued, naturally fell into this faction. To create dissatisfaction in the 
army, and cause the officers to resign from disgust, would not only distract the councils 
of the ruhng party, but make room for new promotions. Col. Innes, the governor's 
favorite, would ascend to the chief command, and the subordinate places would be re- 
served for his adherents. Hence false rumors were set afloat, and the pen of detraction 
was busy to disseminate them. The artifice was easily seen through, and its aims were 
defeated by the leaders on the patriotic side, who looked to Col. Washington as a pillar 
to support their cause." 

The campaign being solely a defensive one, no opportunities 
were allowed for obtaining laurels. The scenes of the past year 
were re-enacted, the savages continued their murderous incursions, 
there was the same tardiness in enlistments, the same troubles with 
the militia, and to increase the difficulties, the governor, tenacious 
of his authority, intrusted insufficient power to Col. Washington. 
" Totally unskilled in military affairs, and residing 200 miles from 
the scene of action, he yet undertook to regulate the principal 
operations ; sending expresses back and forth, and issuing vague, 
contradictory orders, seldom adapted to circumstances — frequently 
impracticable. The summer and autumn were passed in skirmishes 
with the Indians, repairing the old forts, and building new ones. 
By the advice of Col. Washington, a large fort was begun at 
Winchester, as a depository for the military stores, and a rallying 
point for the settlers and troops, should they be driven from the 
frontiers. It was called Fort Loudoun, in honor of the Earl of 
Loudoun, who had now succeeded Gen. Shirley in the American 
command." Traces of this fortification remain to the present day. 

As the year drew to a close, Col. Washington drew up a paper 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 101 

of the military affairs of the province, which he transmitted to 
Lord Loudoun, It contained a history of the war and valuable 
suggestions for future operations. It was courteously received. 
In March, (1757,) Washington attended a meeting, at Philadelphia, 
of several governors and principal officers, summoned by Lord 
Loudoun, to consult upon a comprehensive plan for the next cam- 
paign. It was decided that the principal efforts should be made 
on the lakes and Canada border, while the southern and middle 
colonies were left on the defensive. Col. Washington strenuously 
recommended an expedition against Fort Duquesne. Had his 
views been adopted it would have saved the expense of another 
campaign, and secured the borders from the savage incursions. 
From this conference Washington returned to Winchester, where 
he had spent the two preceding years. His routine of duties was 
the same. The Indians still continued their hostilities. 

The assembly, prorogued to the 27th of October, (1757,) was dis- 
solved on the 9th of November, and writs were issued for a new 
assembly to meet on the 22d of the same month. A day of 
fasting and prayer was appointed. 

While the Assembly were deliberating upon measures of de- 
fence, the French general, Montcalm, took the posts of Oswego 
and Ontario, and his savage allies continued their murderous in- 
roads upon the frontiers. Col. Armstrong, at the head of about 
300 provincials, attacked one of their towns situated about 25 
miles above Fort Duquesne, killed 40 Indians, and rescued eleven 
prisoners. 

Dinwiddle sailed for England in January, 1758, much to the 
satisfaction of the people of Virginia. Originally a petty clerk of 
customs in the West Indies, he had brought himself under the 
notice of government by the detection of an enormous system of 
fraud on the part of his principal, and was thereupon immediately 
rewarded by the appointment of governor of Virginia. In this 
situation, charges were brought against him of extorting illegal 
fees, and appropriating the public funds to his private purposes. 
His public course was vacillating, his deportment arrogant, and he 
was wholly devoid of those qualities becoming his station, and 
particularly requisite at the perilous time he was intrusted with 
such high powers. Lord Loudoun had been commissioned as 
his successor, but his military duties at the north prevented him 
from entering upon the duties of his office. His place was filled, 
temporarily, by John Blair, president of the council, until the arri- 
val, on the 7th of June, of Gov. Francis Fauquier. 

Mr. Pitt having acceded to the British ministry in the spring of 
this year, (1758,) he resolved to prosecute the war with energy in 
America. Gen. Forbes was appointed to the command of an ex- 
pedition against Fort Duquesne. To further his plans, he wrote 
a circular letter to several of the colonies to incite them to action, 
and offering certain supplies at the expense of the king. The 
Virginia Assembly augmented their force to 2000 men. They 



102 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

were divided into two regiments : the first under Col. Washing- 
ton, who still continued commander-in-chief of all the Virginia 
troops ; the second under Col. Byrd. Early in July, Washington 
marched from Winchester with the principal part of the Virginia 
troops, to Fort Cumberland. Six companies of the 1st regiment 
proceeded by another route, and joined Col. Boquet at Raystown, 
the general place of rendezvous for the 6000 troops destined for 
the conquest of Duquesne. While at Fort Cumberland, Col. 
Washington learned that Gen. Forbes thought of constructing a 
new road to Duquesne, instead of following the one made by 
Braddock. He made the most strenuous objection against the 
plan, " when," as he said, there was " scarce time left to tread the 
beaten track, universally confessed to be the best passage through 
the mountains." His efforts were in vain. Col. Boquet was or- 
dered by Gen. Forbes, who was absent, to send forward parties to 
work upon the new road. " Six weeks had been thus spent, when 
Gen. Forbes arrived at Raystown, about the middle of September. 
Forty-five miles only had been gained by the advanced party, then 
constructing a fort at Loyal Hanna, the main army being still at 
Raystown, and the larger part of the Virginia troops at Fort Cum- 
berland. At that moment the whole army might have been before 
the walls of Fort Duquesne, if they had marched as advised by 
Washington. An easy victory would have ensued ; for it was 
ascertained that the French at that time, including Indians, num- 
bered not more than 800 men." 

From Loyal Hanna, Colonel Boquet rashly detached Major 
Grant, a British officer, with a force of 800 men, to reconnoitre in 
the vicinity of Fort Duquesne. 

" This officer reached a hill near the fort during the night, and having posted his men 
in different columns, he sent forward a party to examine the works and discover the 
situation of the enemy. He also detached Major Andrew Lewis with a baggage guard 
about two miles in his rear ; and having made such other arrangements as he deemed 
necessary, he believed himself secure, and, with more parade than prudence, ordered the 
reveille, or alarm, to be beaten. During all this time silence reigned in the fort, which 
Grant imputed to the terrors imposed by his appearance. But the calm was a dreadful 
precursor of a storm, which burst with resistless fury and unexpected ruin. The mo- 
ment the Indians and French were ready for the attack, they issued from the fort, spread- 
ing death and dismay among the provincial troops. As soon as the attack was an- 
nounced by the firing of guns. Major Lewis, with his rear-guard, advanced to the assistance 
of Grant, leaving only fifty men, under the command of Captain Bullet, to guard the 
baggage. Their united forces, however, were unable to withstand the impetuous assault 
of the savages, whose warwhoop is always a forerunner of havoc and destruction. The 
fire of the rifle requires coolness and deliberation, whereas the tomahawk and scalping-- 
knife are fitted for sanguinary dispatch. No quarter was given by the Indians. Major 
Grant saved his life only by surrendering to a French officer. In the same way the 
brave Major Lewis escaped, after defending himself against several Indians succes- 
sively. The two principal officers being now in the hands of the enemy, the rout be- 
came general among their troops. In their pursuit, the Indians exercised every cruelty 
-which savage ferocity could inflict upon the hapless victims whom the sad fortune of 
the day delivered into their hands. The situation of the retreating troops, at this time, 
jnust appear truly desperate. They were in an enemy's country, far from any English 
settlement, as well as from any immediate prospect of succor ; routed and dispersed by 
a bloody and vindictive foe, whose intimate knowledge of the woods and superior agility 
seemed to threaten a total destruction of the party. Their escape, however, was effected 
i»y the prudence and heroism of Captain Bullet, of the baggage guard, by a manoeuvre 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 103 

no less fortunate for his men than honorable to himself. This officer, immediately on 
discovering the rout of the troops, dispatched on the strongest horses the most neces- 
sary part of the baggage, and disposing the remainder on an advantageous part of the 
road, as a kind of breastwork, he posted his men behind it, and endeavored not only to 
rally the fugitives as they came up, but by a vifell-directed fire to check the violence of 
the pursuers. Finding the enemy growing too strong to be withstood by his feeble 
force, he ordered his men, according to previous agreement, to reverse their arms and 
march up in front of their assailants, holding out a signal for capitulation, as if going to 
surrender. The impatience of the Indians to bathe their tomahawks in English blood, 
would scarcely allow them to suspend their attacks, while the latter appeared in the act 
of suing for mercy. The moment they had arrived within about eighty yards of the 
enemy. Bullet gave the word to fire : — a dreadful volley was instantly poured upon the 
Indians, and was followed by a furious charge with fixed bayonets. The enemy were 
unable to resist this bold and imexpected attack, and believing that the army of the 
English was at hand, they fled with precipitation ; nor did they stop until they reached 
the French regulars. Bullet, instead of pursuing them, wisely retreated towards the 
main body of the army, collecting in his march the wounded and wandering soldiers, 
who had escaped from the field of battle without knowing whither to direct their course 
In this fatal action, about twenty officers, and two hundred and seventy -three private 
soldiers,^ were either killed or taken prisoners. 

" The Virginia troops on this occasion behaved with courage, and suffered severely in 
the action ; but the gallant conduct of Captain Bullet is almost without a parallel in 
Ayierican history. His situation, after the defeat of Grant, to an officer of less discern- 
ment must have appeared desperate. To resist the triumphant savages with a handful 
of men, would seem madness ; and to have fled without any hopes of escape, would 
have been folly. In this dilemma, with scarcely time to deliberate. Bullet adopted the 
only plan which could preserve himself and his men from the most cruel death, or the 
most distressing captivity." 

The dilatory and unwise method of carrying on the expedition 
alarmed the Virginia Assembly for the fate of the expedition, and 
they resolved to recall their troops and place them upon the pro- 
tection of their own frontier. But subsequent information occa- 
sioned them to revoke these resolves. 

On General Forbes' arrival at Raystown he called a council of 
war, and, at his desire. Col. Washington drew up a line of march. 
Washington, at his own request, was placed in the advance, with 
a division of 1000 men. "The month of November had set in 
before General Forbes, with the artillery and main body of the 
army, arrived at Loyal Hanna. More than 50 miles, through 
pathless and rugged wilds, still intervened between the army and 
Fort Duquesne. A council of war was held, and it was decided 
to be unadvisable, if not impracticable, to prosecute the campaign 
any further till the next season, and that a winter encampment 
among the mountains, or a retreat to the frontier settlements, was 
the only alternative that remained. Thus far all the anticipations 
of Washington had been realized." A mere accident reversed this 
decision. Three prisoners were taken, who gave such representa- 
tions of the weak state of the garrison that it was determined to 
push on. 

On the 25th of November, 1758, the army took peaceable pos- 
session of Fort Duquesne, or rather the place where it stood, for 
the enemy had burnt and abandoned it the day before, and gone 
down the Ohio in boats. This fortress, after being repaired and 
garrisoned, was named Fort Pitt, now the site of the flourishing 
city of Pittsburg, which place was then considered within the 



104 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

jurisdiction of Virginia. The remains of Major Grant's men 
were buried by Gen. Forbes in one common tomb, the whole army 
assisting at the solemn ceremony. 

Gen. Forbes returned to Philadelphia, where he died in a few 
weeks, and Washington soon directed his course to Williamsburg, 
as a member of the General Assembly from Frederick county. 
The capture of Duquesne restored quiet and general joy through- 
out the colony. The war was soon prosecuted at the North with 
vigor. In the succeeding summer of 1759, Niagara and Crown 
Point fell into the possession of the British crown, and on the 18th 
of September, Quebec surrendered to the brave and gallant Wolfe. 
The treaty of Fontainbleau, in November, 1762, put an end to the 
war. 



CHAPTER VII. 

FROM THE TERMINATION OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR TO THE SUR- 
RENDER OF CORNWALLIS. 

Encroachments of Britain upon the American colonies. — Spirited conduct of Virginia 
thereon. — Patrick Henry's resolution on the right to tax America. — Death of Gover. 
nor Fauquier. — Arrival of Lord Bottetourt. — Continued aggressions of the mother 
country. — Death of Bottetourt. — Lord Dunmore governor. — Dunmore's war. — Bat. 
tie of Point Pleasant. — Speech of Logan. — End of the Indian war. — Meeting of the 
Continental Congress. — Dunmore removes the gunpowder of the colony from the 
magazine at Williamsburg. — Patrick Henry marches down at the head of a body of 
volunteers and forces the Receiver. general to make compensation. — Battle of Lexing- 
ton. — Dunmore flees on board the Fowey man-of-war. — Termination of the Royal 
government in Virginia.— ^Meeting of the Virginia Convention. — Dunmore, with the 
British fleet, attacks Hampton. — Affair in Princess Anne. — Defeat of the enemy at 
Cheat Bridge. — Norfolk burnt. — Delegates in Congress instructed by the General 
Convention of Virginia to propose the Declaration of Independence. — A Constitution 
for the State Government adopted. — Patrick Henry governor. — Joyous reception in 
Virginia of the news of the Declaration of Independence. — Dunmore driven from 
Gwynn's Island. — First meeting of the Legislature under the State Constitution. — 
Indian war. — Col. Christian makes peace with the Creek and Cherokee nations. — 
Revision of the State laws. — Glance at the war at the north. — Col. Rogers Clark 
takes Kaskaskias and Fort St. Vincent. — Illinois erected into a county. — Vir- 
ginia cedes her Western Territory to the United States. — Sir Henry Clinton 
appointed Commander-in-chief of the British army. — He transfers the seat of the war 
to the south. — Sir George Collier, with a British fleet, enters Hampton Roads. — • 
Fort Nelson abandoned. — The enemy take possession of Portsmouth, and burn Suf- 
folk. — They embark for New York. — The reduction of Virginia determined on by 
the enemy. — Gen. Leslie invades Virginia, and lands at Portsmouth. — The gov- 
ernment prepares to resist the enemy. — Leslie leaves Virginia. — Battle of the Cow- 
pens. — Arnold invades Virginia, lands at Westover, and marches to Richmond. — He 
returns to Westover, and arrives at Portsmouth. — Washington forms a plan to cut 
off his retreat. — Clinton detaches Gen. Philips to the assistance of Arnold. — Defence- 
less situation of Virginia. — Philips takes possession of Petersburg, and commits de- 
predations in the vicinity. — Death of Gen. Philips. — Cornwallis enters Petersburg. — 
Tarleton's expedition to Charlotteville. — Various movements of the two armies. — 
Cornwallis concentrates his army at York and Gloucester. — Surrender of Corn, 
wallis, 

" Questions touching the power of the British Parliament to in- 
terfere with the concerns of the colonies had arisen more than once 



OUTLINE HISTORV. 105 

before the war, and during its continuance the delicate question 
arose, of the proportions which the several colonies should pay for 
the common defence. The British ministry proposed that deputies 
should meet and determine the amount necessary, and draw on 
the British treasury, which in turn should be reimbursed by an 
equal tax on all the colonies, to be laid by Parliament ; but the 
colonies were afraid to let the lion put his paw in their pockets, 
even to take back his own ; and this being no time to raise difficul- 
ties, the colonial legislatures were left to their own discretion in 
voting supplies, which they did with a liberality so disproportioned 
to their ability, as to excite the praise, and in some instances to 
induce a reimbursement on the part of the mother country. Vir- 
ginia had always resisted any interference on the part of Parlia- 
ment, especially in the navigation acts, and asserted as early as 
1624, that she only had the undoubted right ' to lay taxes and im- 
positions, and none other,' and afterwards refused to let any mem- 
ber of the council of Governor Berkeley, in the height of his popu- 
larity, assist them in determining the amount of the public levy. 
Again in 1676, even stronger language was used and acquiesced 
in by the king, to whom it was immediately addressed. 

" The slight taxes imposed for the regulation of commerce, and 
the support of a post-office, were borne by the colonies without a 
murmur, being considered only a fair compensation for a benefit 
received. In March, 1764, the ministers declared it ' expedient to 
raise a revenue on stamps in America, to be paid into the king's 
exchequer.' The discussion of this was postponed until the next 
year in Parliament, but commenced immediately in America, and 
the proposition was met by every form of respectful petition and 
indignant remonstrance ; which were, however, equally unavailing, 
and the stamp act passed in 1765. The passage of this act excited 
universal and indignant hostility throughout the colonies, which 
was displayed in the forms of mourning and the cessation of busi- 
ness ; the courts refused to sanction the act by sitting, and the bar 
by using the stamps. In the succeeding Virginia legislature^ 
Patrick Henry introduced and carried, among others, the following 
resolution : — 

" Resolved, That the General Assembly of this colony, together with his majesty, or 
substitute, have, in their representative capacity, the only exclusive right and power 
to lay taxes and impositions upon the inhabitants of this colony : and that every at- 
tempt to vest such power in any person or persons whatsoever, other than the General 
Assembly aforesaid, is illegal, unconstitutional, and unjust, and has a manifest tendency 
to destroy British as well as American freedom." 

" After the passage of Henry's resolutions, the governor dissolved 
the Assembly ; but the people re-elected the friends, and excluded 
the opposers of the resolutions. The spirited conduct of Virginia 
fired the ardor of the other colonies ; they passed similar resolu- 
tions, and a general Congress was proposed. The deputies of nine 
states met in New York on the 1st of October ;^ they drafted a 
declaration of rights, a petition to the king^ commons, and lords. 

14 



106 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

The stamp act was repealed, and Virginia sent an address of 
thanks to the king and parliament." 

Francis Fauquier, Lieut. Governor of Virginia, died in 1767, and 
the government devolved on John Blair, until the arrival of Lord 
Bottetourt, the following year. 

" The joy of the colonies at the repeal of the stamp act was 
short-lived. British ministers imagined that they could cheat the 
colonies out of their opposition to taxation without representation, 
by laying an import duty instead of a direct tax ; and accordingly, 
a duty was laid upon glass, tea, paper, and painter's colors ; but 
this was equally against the spirit of the British constitution, and 
met with a warmer and more indignant resistance on the part of 
the colonies, who now began to believe they had little hope from 
the justice of parliament. The legislature of Virginia passed very 
spirited resolutions, which it ordered to be sent only to the king ; 
upon the passage of which the governor dissolved it ; and the 
members immediately met and entered unanimously into a non- 
importation agreement. 

" The British ministers perceived their error, and determined to 
pause in their violence ; to effect this object the governors were 
directed to inform the colonies, that his majesty's ministers did not 
intend to raise a revenue in America, and the duties objected to 
should be speedily repealed. These assurances, made to Virginia 
by Lord Bottetourt, a governor whom they highly respected, served, 
with his own good conduct, for a time to allay her suspicions of 
the ministry ; but the course they pursued towards Massachusetts 
was more than sufficient to rekindle her jealousy. She passed a 
protest, declaring that partial remedies could not heal the present 
disorders, and renewed their non-importation agreement. In 1771 
Bottetourt died, and Virginia erected a statue to his memory, which 
still stands in the town of Williamsburg. Wm. Nelson, then 
president of the council, occupied the chair of government until 
the arrival of Lord Dunmore, in 1772. The delay of Lord Dun- 
more in New York for some months after his appointment to the 
gubernatorial chair of Virginia, excited the prejudices of the col- 
ony, which his sending a man of some military distinction as a 
clerk, and raising a salary and fees for him out of the colony, were 
by no means calculated to dissipate. The first legislature that 
met compelled the governor to dispense with the emoluments of 
his secretary, Capt. Foy ; and the next, after thanking him for his 
activity in apprehending some counterfeiters of the colony paper, 
strongly reproved him for dispensing with the usual forms and 
ceremonies with which the law has guarded the liberty of the 
citizen. The same legislature, having provided for the soundness 
and security of the currency, the punishment of the guilty, and 
required the governor to respect the law, turned their eyes to their 
sister colonies, and appointed a committee of correspondence* to 

* This committee were Peyton Randolph, Robert Carter Nicholas, Richard Bland,, 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 107 

inquire into the various violations of their constitutional rights by 
the British ministry. While Virginia was employed in animating 
her sister states to resistance, her governor was employed in the 
ignoble occupation of fomenting jealousies and feuds between the 
province, which it should have been his duty to protect from such 
a calamity, and Pennsylvania, by raising difficult questions of 
boundary, and exciting the inhabitants of the disputed territory to 
forswear allegiance to the latter province ; hoping thus, by afford- 
ing a more immediately exciting question, to draw off the atten- 
tion of these two important provinces from the encroachments of 
Great Britain. This scheme, as contemptible as it was iniquitous, 
wholly failed, through the good sense and magnanimity of the 
Virginia council. Lord North, full of his feeble and futile schemes 
of cheating the colonies out of their rights, took off the obnoxious 
duties with the exception of three pence per pound on tea ; and, 
with the ridiculous idea that he might fix the principle upon the 
colonies by a precedent, which should strip it of all that was 
odious, offered a draw-back equal to the import duty. This in- 
duced the importation of tea into Boston harbor, which, being 
thrown overboard by some of the citizens, called down upon their 
city all the rigor of the celebrated Boston port bill. A draft of 
this bill reached the Virginia legislature while in session; an ani- 
mated protest, and a dissolution of the assembly by the governor, 
of course followed. On the following day the members convened 
in the Raleigh tavern, and, in an able and manly paper, expressed 
to their constituents and their government those sentiments and 
opinions which they had not been allowed to express in a legisla- 
tive form. This meeting recommended a cessation of trade with 
the East India Company, a Congress of deputies from all the col- 
onies, ' declaring their opinion, that an attack upon one of the 
colonies was an attack upon all British America,' and a convention 
of the people of Virginia. The sentiments of the people accorded 
with those of their late delegates ; they elected members who met 
in convention at Williamsburg, on the 1st of August, 1774. This 
convention went into a detailed view of their rights and grievan- 
ces, discussed measures of redress for the latter, and declared their 
determination never to relinquish the former ; they appointed dep- 
uties to attend a general Congress, and they instructed them how 
to proceed. The Congress met in Philadelphia, on the 4th of Sep- 
tember, 1774. While Virginia was engaged in her efforts for the 
general good, she was not without her peculiar troubles at home. 
The Indians had been for some time waging a horrid war upon the 
frontiers, when the indignation of the people at length compelled 
the reluctant governor to take up arms, and march to suppress the 
very savages he was thought to have encouraged and excited to 
hostility by his intrigues. 

Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Harrison, Edmund Pendleton, Patrick Henry, Dudley 
Digges, Dabney Carr, Archibald Carey, and Thomas Jefferson. 



108 OUTLINE HISTOEY. 

" Lord Dunmore marched the army in two divisions : the one un- 
der Col. Andrew Lewis he sent to the junction of the Great Kana- 
wha with the Ohio, while he himself marched to a higher point 
on the latter river, with pretended purpose of destroying the In- 
dian towns and joining Lewis at Point Pleasant ; but it was be- 
lieved with the real* object of sending the whole Indian force to 
annihilate Lewis' detachment, and thereby weaken the power and 
break down the spirit of Virginia, If such was his object he was 
signally defeated through the gallantry of the detachment, which 
met and defeated the superior numbers of the enemy at Point 
Pleasant, after an exceeding hard-fought day, and the loss of nearly 
all its officers. The day after the victory, an express arrived from 
Dunmore with orders for the detachment to join him at a distance 
of 80 miles, through an enemy's country, without any conceivable 
object but the destruction of the corps. As these orders were 
given without a knowledge of the victory, Col. Lewis was pro- 
ceeding to the destruction of the Shawanese villages, when he 
was informed the governor had made peace. 

" When the treaty was commenced, Cornstalk, the celebrated Shawanese chieftain, 
made a speech, in which he charged upon the whites the cause of the war, in conse- 
quence, principally, of the murder of Logan's family. Logan was a Mingo chief. 
' For magnanimity in war, and greatness of soul in peace, few, if any, in any nationj 
ever surpassed Logan.' ' His form was striking and manly, his countenance calm and 
noble, and he spoke the English language with fluency and correctness.' Logan did 
not make his appearance among the Indian deputies. ' He disdained to be seen among 
the suppliants. But, lest the sincerity of a treaty should be disturbed, from which so 
distinguished a chief absented himself, he sent, by Gen. John Gibson, t the following 
speech, to be delivered to Lord Dunmore.' 

" ' I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he 
gave him not meat : if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During 
the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate 
for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed, as they passed, 
and said, ' Logan is the friend of white men.' I had even thought to have lived with 
you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap,t the last spring, in cold blood, and 
unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not even sparing my women and child- 
ren. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This 
called on me for revenge. I have sought it : I have killed many : I have fully glutted 
my vengeance : for my country I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbor a 
thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his 
heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan ? — Not one.' " 

The affairs between Britain and her American colonies were 
now verging to a crisis. The hostile attitude of the latter, soon 
occasioned orders to be issued to their governors to remove the 
military stores out of their reach. Accordingly, on the 20th of 
April, 1775, Dunmore secretly removed the gunpowder from the 

* See Memoir of Indian wars, &c., by the late Col. Stuart of Greenbrier, presented 
to the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society by Charles A. Stuart, of Au- 
gusta county, and the Chronicles of Border Warfare, by Alexander C. Withers, for a 
strong corroboration of these suspicions. 

t The authenticity of this speech has been much questioned. The reader will find 
the deposition of Gen. Gibson in the American Pioneer, which gives full and satisfactory 
confirmation of its genuineness. 

t Various evidence is given, in the Pioneer, that it was Capt. Michael Cresap, not 
Col, Cresap, wljo mufdered the Indians on the Ohio, 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 109 

magazine at Williamsburg, to the Magdalen man-of-war, anchored 
oif Yorktown. Thereupon, the volunteers of Williamsburg imme- 
diately flew to arms, and could with difficulty be restrained from 
seizing the person of the governor. The people of the town sent 
a deputation to Dunmore, who remonstrated with him for this act, 
especially at a time when they feared an insurrection of the slaves. 
His reply " was everywhere considered as a mean and scandalous 
evasion." Fearful of the consequences of his conduct, he estab- 
lished a guard of negroes at his palace. Exasperated to the high- 
est degree, he openly swore, " by the living God," that if any injury 
w^as offered to himself, or the officers who had acted under his 
direction in the affair of the gunpowder, he would proclaim free- 
dom to the slaves, and reduce Williamsburg to ashes. These 
savage threats wrought the indignation of the people to the high- 
est pitch, w^hich spread like electricity throughout the colony. 
Over six hundred people of the upper country armed themselves, 
assembled at Fredericksburg, and offered their services to defend, 
if necessary, Williamsburg from the threatened attack of Dunmore. 
Thousands also, in all parts of Virginia, stood ready, at a moment's 
warning, to lend their aid. In the mean time, those ardent patriots, 
Peyton Randolph and Edmund Pendleton, transmitted their advice 
to the Fredericksburg meeting to abstain, for the present, from 
hostilities, until Congress should decide on a general plan of resist- 
ance. 

" On the receipt of this advice, they held a council, consisting of over one hundred 
members, who, by a majority of one only, concluded to disperse for the present. They, 
however, drafted an address, which was almost tantamount to a declaration of independ, 
ence, in which they ' firmly resolved to resist all attempts against their rights and privi- 
leges, from whatever quarter they might be assailed. They pledged themselves to each 
other to be in readiness, at a moment's warning, to reassemble, and, by force of arms, 
to defend the laws, the liberties, and the rights of this or any sister colony, from 
unjust and wicked invasion. They then sent dispatches to troops assembled in Caroline, 
Berkeley, Frederick, and Dunmore counties, thanking them for their offer of service, and 
acquainting them with their determinations. The address was read at the head of each 
company, and unanimously approved. It concluded with these impressive words GOD 
SAVE THE LIBERTIES OF AMERICA I'" 

The volunteers of Hanover, however, determined to recover the 
powder, or perish in the attempt. With Patrick Henry at their 
head, they marched from Hanover town to Doncastle's ordinary, 
within 16 miles of the capitol, their numbers swelled by accessions 
of volunteers from King William and New Kent. They here 
disbanded, (May 4th,) and returned to their homes, Patrick Henry 
having received ample compensation for the powder from Richard 
Corbin, the king's receiver-general. Two days after the above, 
Dunmore issued a proclamation against " a certain Patrick Henry, 
of the county of Hanover, and a number of deluded followers," and 
forbade all persons to countenance him, or others concerned in like 
combinations. On the 11th, Henry left Virginia to attend the 
Continental Congress, of which he was a member. 

By this time, every county in Virginia was fairly aroused to the 
dangers that beset them. County committees were formed, who 



110 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

anticipated measures of defence, by arming and raising minute- 
men, and taking all practicable means to make an effectual resist- 
ance. The people sympathized with the sufferings of the Bos- 
tonians, and the citizens of Williamsburg assembled, and unani- 
mously resolved to subscribe money for their aid. The news of 
the battle of Lexington reached Virginia about this time. 

The proclamation of Dunmore had scarce made its appearance, 
when some persons privately entered the magazine and carried 
away a great number of arms and military equipments. New 
causes of irritation between the governor and the people were con- 
tinually arising. 

When Patrick Henry marched down to make reprisals for the 
gunpowder, Dunmore dispatched a messenger to the Fowey man- 
of-war, anchored off Yorktown, for aid. A detachment of 40 ma- 
rines and sailors was sent to Williamsburg, where they remained 
about 10 days. Previous to their landing at Yorktown, Capt. Mon- 
tague sent a letter from on board the Fowey to Col. Thomas Nel- 
son, threatening to fire upon the town if the troops were molested 
or attacked, — a message which still further increased the indigna- 
tion of the people. 

On the 1st of June the governor convened the Assembly, and 
addressed them in a speech. With this commenced a political 
correspondence between him and the House of Burgesses, which 
was, on the part of the latter, a clear and forcible defence of the 
rights of the colonies. On the 8th of June, the governor, with his 
family, fled on board the Fowey, off Yorktown, from ill-grounded 
apprehensions of his safety at Williamsburg. Several communi- 
cations passed between him and the Assembly, relative to public 
business generally, the late disturbances respecting the removal 
of the gunpowder, and the governor's proclamation and course of 
conduct. 

Dunmore " refused, upon invitation of the Assembly, to return 
to his palace or to sign bills of the utmost importance to the colony, 
and refused to perform this branch of duty, unless the Assembly 
would come and hold their meetings under the guns of his ship at 
Yorktown. In this emergency, the governor was declared to have 
abdicated, and the president of the council appointed to act in his 
place. His lordship, on the termination of the intercourse between 
himself and the Assembly, which was towards the close of June, 
sailed down the river." Thus ended the royal government in Vir- 
ginia. 

The Assembly now dissolved, and, pursuant to agreement, the 
delegates, on the 17th of July, met in convention at Richmond, to 
organize a provincial form of government and a plan of defence. 
The following illustrious characters composed the committee of 
safety : — Edmund Pendleton, George Mason, John Page, Richard 
Bland, Thomas Ludwell Lee, Paul Carrington, Dudley Digges, 
James Mercer, Carter Braxton, William Cabell, and John Tabb. 
The convention made arrangements to raise troops for defence, 



OUTLINE HISTOEY. " HI 

and the general committee met at Hanover Town, in Hanover 
county, on business connected with the military establishment, 
and then adjourned to Williamsburg about the last of September. 

Previously, the committee of safety recommended to the dis- 
trict committees to direct the contractors in each district to pro- 
vide, among other things, a stand of colors, bearing on one side 
the name of the district, on the other, " Virginia for Constitutional 
Liberty." 

In October, by Dunmore's orders, a party of men, under cover of 
their men-of-war, landed at Norfolk, and forcibly carried on board 
their vessels the press and types of a newspaper imbued with the 
patriotic principles of the day. Shortly after, Dunmore marched 
to Kempsville, in Princess Anne, destroyed some fire-arms deposited 
there, and took prisoner Capt. Matthews, of the minute-men. About 
this time an attack was made on Hampton, by some vessels com- 
manded by Capt. Squires, who had threatened to burn the town. 
The enemy were beaten off with loss, while not a single Virginian 
was killed. 

In the mean time, numbers of armed people from the upper 
country were arriving at Williamsburg. Dunmore, hearing that 
the 2d Virginia Regiment and the Culpeper Battalion had been 
ordered to Norfolk, directed the Kingfisher and three large tenders 
to move up to Burwell's Ferry, to prevent their crossing the James. 
These vessels, on their arrival, finding an American skipper at the 
landing, commenced firing upon her, and in a peremptory tone or- 
dered her to come alongside the Kingfisher. Some Virginian 
riflemen, on the bank, directed her master not to obey the order. 
Upon this the man-of-war commenced a brisk fire upon the vessel, 
but without effect. Twice the Kingfisher sent a large boat full 
of men to take possession, and twice they were beaten off by the 
unerring aim of the riflemen. Foiled in this attempt, the enemy 
the next day attempted to land a boat filled with armed men at 
Jamestown. They were again repulsed by some rifle sentinels on 
the shore. In this month (November) Dunmore, with a superior 
force, surprised about 200 militia of Princess Anne, on their march 
to join the troops. Their colonel, with several others, was made 
prisoner. 

Under date of November 7th, Dunmore issued his proclamation, 
in which he proclaimed martial law, declared all capable of bear- 
ing arms who did not resort to his majesty's standard traitors, and 
offered freedom to all slaves " appertaining to rebels" who would 
join his majesty's troops. On this Dunmore had staked his best 
hopes. Had he had a formidable force at hand to execute his threats, 
some apprehensions might have been excited. But as it was, it 
only harmonized public opinion, increased public irritation, and 
engendered a burning detestation of the means to which their late 
governor unblushingly stooped to awe them into submission. His 
lordship set up his standard in Norfolk and Princess Anne, issued 
orders to the militia captains to raise a body of troops to oppose 



112 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

the colonial army, prescribed, and, in some cases, extorted an oath 
of allegiance. A multitude of motley partisans flocking to his 
standard, he designed to destroy the provisions collected at Suf- 
folk for the Virginia troops. To prevent this. Col. Woodford, on 
the 20th of November, detached 215 light troops, under Col. Scott 
and Major Marshall, to that place, and on the 25th arrived there 
with the main body of the Virginia troops. 

About this time evidence was brought to light of a diabolical scheme, matured by 
Dunmore, against that colony of which he pretended to be a friend. This was a co- 
operation of the various Indian tribes with the tories on the frontiers. John Connelly, 
a Pennsylvanian, an artful, enterprising man, was the projector of the intrigue. In 
July he nearly matured the plan with the governor. Ample rewards were offered to the 
militia captains inclined to the royal cause, and willing to act under Connelly. To con- 
nect its extensive ramifications, he was dispatched to General Gage, at Boston, and 
returned about the 15th of October, with instructions from the latter. These invested 
him with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel of a regiment of loyaHsts, to be raised on the fron- 
tier. Fort Pitt was to be the rendezvous of all the forces to act under him, among 
which were several companies of the Royal Irish, then at Fort Gage, in the Illinois country. 
From thence they would march through Virginia, and join Dunmore on the 20th of 
April at Alexandria, where an army was to land under the cannon of ships-of-war and 
possess themselves of the town. For a time, fortune favored this formidable plot, in the 
prosecution of which Connelly often travelled long distances in various directions. Sus- 
picions were at length aroused : an emissary of the governor's was arrested, upon whom 
were found papers partly disclosing the plot. These led to the arrestation of Connelly 
He, with two confederates, Allen Cameron and Dr. John Smyth, both Scotchmen, were 
taken near Hagerstown, Maryland, on their way to Detroit. Upon searching their bag- 
gage, a general plan of the whole scheme was found, with large sums of money, and a 
letter from Dunmore to one of the Indian chiefs. " Thus was a plot, originally con- 
trived with profound and amazing secrecy, and in its subsequent stages managed with 
consummate skill, brought by patriotic vigilance to an untimely issue." 

The only avenue from Suffolk to Norfolk — to wrhich place he 
■was destined — by which Col. Woodford could march, was by the 
Great Bridge, about 12 miles from the latter. The enemy were 
posted there in a stockade fort, on his arrival with the Virginian 
troops. Woodford constructed a breastwork within cannon-shot 
of the fort. 

On the 9th of December, Capt. Fordyce, at the head of a party 
of British grenadiers, in attempting to storm the breastwork, was 
repulsed by a most destructive and bloody fire. After this, Dun- 
more, with most of his followers, took refuge on board his vessels. 
The Virginians marched into Norfolk, and annoyed the enemy by 
firing into their vessels. In retaliation, Dunmore cannonaded the 
town, and on the night of the 1st of January, 1776, landed a party, 
who, under cover of their cannon, set fire to the houses on the 
river which had sheltered the provincials. The committee of 
safety ordered Col. Robert Howe to destroy the remainder of the 
town, to prevent the British from making it a permanent post. 
Norfolk, then the most populous town in Virginia, contained near 
6,000 inhabitants. 

Colonels Woodford and Stevens assisted Col. Howe in the com- 
mand at Norfolk. Besides the two regiments already raised, the 
Convention resolved to raise seven more. Six of these were placed 
on the continental establishment, to whose officers Congress granted 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 113 

commissions, in order, beginning with Col. Henry, of the 1st, and 
ending with Col. Buckner, of the 6th Regiment.* 

Col. Patrick Henry resigned his commission, much to the regret 
of the regiment, and was thereupon chosen a member of the Con- 
vention from Hanover. 

The General Convention of Virginia met at the capital, May 
6th, 1776, and appointed Edmund Pendleton, President, and John 
Tazewell, Clerk. Since the flight of Dunmore, the House of Bur- 
gesses had met twice, pursuant to adjournment, but on neither 
occasion was there a quorum. They now met on the same day 
with the Convention, but " did neither proceed to business, nor 
adjourn as a House of Burgesses." Considering their meeting as 
illegal, not in conformity with a summons from a governor, they 
unanimously dissolved themselves. " Thus was the tottering fabric 
of the royal government utterly demolished in Virginia ; to substi- 
tute in its stead a structure of more elegant and more solid form, 
was now the task of the Convention." 

On the 15th of this month, the convention, after appealing to 
" the Searcher of hearts" for the sincerity of their former declara- 
tions in favor of peace and union with the mother country, adopted 
unanimously the following resolution : 

" That the delegates appointed to represent this colony in General Congress, be in- 
structed to propose to that respectable body, to declare the united colonies free and inde- 
pendent States, absolved from all allegiance to, or dependence on the crown or parlia- 
ment of Great Britain ; and that they give the assent of this colony to such declaration, 
and whatever measures may be thought necessary by Congress for forming foreign alliances, 
and a confederation of the colonies, at such time, and in the manner that to them shall 
seem best : provided, that the power of forming governments for, and the regulations of 
the internal concerns of each colony, be left to the colonial legislatures." 

The convention appointed a committee to prepare a Declaration 
of Rights, and a Plan of Government, for the colony. The former 
was adopted on the 12th of June. On the 29th a constitution 
was unanimously adopted ; " the first which was framed with a 
view to a permanent separation from Great Britain since those of 
South Carolina and New Hampshire, which alone preceded it, 
were to continue only until a reconciliation could be effected be- 
tween the mother country and the colonies. This plan of govern- 
ment was proposed by the celebrated George Mason,f and had 
been adopted in committee before the arrival of one which Mr. 
Jefferson, then in Congress, had prepared. They however ac- 
cepted Mr. Jefferson's preamble, which is nearly the same as the 
recital of wrongs in the Declaration of Independence."J 

* The following were appointed field-ofRcers : — 

Regiment. Colonels. Lieut. -Colonels. Majors. 

Third, Hugh Mercer, George Weedon, Thomas Marshall. 

Fourth, Adam Steven, Isaac Read, R. Lawson. 

Fifth, William Peachy, Wm. Crawford, J. Parker. 

Sixth, Mordecai Buckner, Thomas Elliott, J. Hendricks. 

Seventh, Wm. Dangerfield, Alex. M'Clanahan, Wm. Nelson. 

Eighth, Peter Muhlenburg, A. Bowman, P. Helvistone. 

Ninth, Thomas Fleming, George Matthews, M. Donavon. 

t The Declaration of Rights was also drawn up by him. | Tucker's Life of Jefferson. 

15 



114 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

The following appointments were made under the constitution : 

Patrick Henry, Esq., governor. John Page, Dudley Digges, 
John Tayloe, John Blair, Benjamin Harrison of Berkeley, Barthol- 
omew Dandridge, Charles Carter of Shirley, and Benjamin Harri- 
son of Brandon, counsellors of state. Thomas Whiting, John 
Hutchings, Champion Travis, Thomas Newton, jun., and George 
Webb, Esquires, commissioners of admiralty. Thomas Everard 
and James Cocke, Esquires, commissioners for settling accounts. 
Edmund Randolph, Esq., attorney-general. 

On the 5th of July the convention adjourned. Though the ses- 
sion was brief, it was an important one. Among other acts besides 
the formation of a government, they passed an ordinance for erect- 
ing salt works in the colony : for establishing a board of com- 
missioners to superintend and direct the naval affairs of the colony : 
for raising six troops of horse : for arranging the counties into 
districts for electing senators, &c. They also resolved to expunge 
from the litany such parts as related to the king and royal family, 
and substituted, in the morning and evening service, such forms of 
expression as were better suited to the new state of affairs. 

The Declaration of Independence, so strongly recommended by 
the Virginia convention, was passed in Congress on the 4th of 
July, 1776; and, agreeably to an order of the privy council, it was 
proclaimed on the 25th of the same month at the capitol, the 
court-house, and the palace at Williamsburg, amidst the acclama- 
tions of the people, and the firing of cannon and musketry. 

The energetic measures that had been adopted by the Virginia 
troops in precluding the flotilla of Dunmore from obtaining sup- 
plies, had at last obliged them to burn the intrenchments they had 
erected near the ruins of Norfolk, and seek a refuge on board their 
ships, where disease and hunger pursued them. The presence of 
his lordship in the lower country had given countenance to the 
disaffected, who w^ere there numerous. A vigorous course was 
ordered to be pursued towards them. Col. Woodford, stationed 
at Kemps' Landing, (now Kempsville, Princess Anne,) humanely 
executed these orders, which were intrusted to him by the commit- 
tee of safety, through Maj. Gen. Chas. Lee. 

Dunmore, with his fleet, left Hampton Roads about the 1st of 
June, landed and erected fortifications on Gwynn's island, within 
the limits of what is now Matthew's county.\ On the 9th of July 
he was attacked by the Virginians, under Brig. Gen. Andrew 
Lewis, and forced to abandon the island. Shortly after, Dunmore 
dispatched the miserable remnant of his followers to Florida and 
the West Indies, and sailing himself to the north, forever left the 
shores of Virginia. 

The nefarious plot of Connelly was only part of an extensive 
scheme of operations, which the British had meditated in seeking 
an alliance with the savages. By their instigation the Indians 
were harassing the frontiers of the southern states to such a de- 
gree that a combination was formed to destroy their settlements 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 115 

on the borders. Col. Christian, on the part of this state, marched 
with a body of Virginia troops into the Cherokee country, burnt 
four of their towns, and compelled them to sue for peace. 

On the 7th of October, 1776, the Assembly of Virginia met for 
the first time ; Edmund Pendleton was chosen Speaker of the 
House of Delegates, and Archibald Carey of the Senate. One of 
the earliest of their labors was the repeal of all acts of Parliament 
against dissenters, which was the first direct blow struck at the 
established church in the state. 

In the session of this fall, the Assembly appointed Thomas Jef- 
ferson, Edmund Pendleton, George Wythe, George Mason, and 
Thomas Ludwell Lee, Esquires, a committee to revise the State 
laws, and prepare a code more suitable to the new state of affairs : 
the execution of the work devolved on the three first. 

At the north, the war was progressing with various success. The Americans had 
been defeated at Long Island, New York came into the possession of the British, 
and General Montgomery fell before the walls of Quebec, and his army retreated 
from Canada. Washington's army, reduced to 3,500 effective men, retreated through 
New Jersey, before the overwhelming force of the enemy, and crossed the Delaware. 
On the 25th of December, 1776, Washington recrossed the Delaware, and the victories 
of Trenton and Princeton, the first on the 26th of December, and the last on the 3d of 
January, at this the darkest period of the revolution, reanimated the hopes of the friends 
of liberty. 

The principal object of the British in the campaign of 1777, was to open a commu- 
nication between New York city and Canada, and to separate New England from the 
other states. Early in the year, Burgoyne was sent for this purpose, with 7,000 men, 
fiom Canada. He was arrested by Gen. Gates, and on the 17th of October, was com- 
pelled to surrender his whole army to him. The capture of Burgoyne spread joy through- 
out the country. Washington, in the mean while, was in anxious suspense, watching the 
operations of Sir Wm. Howe, who had sailed from New York with 18,000 men, and a 
large fleet commanded by Lord Howe. Apprehensive it was a ruse, designed to draw 
him to the south, and leave the north open to their attacks, Washington proceeded to 
Bucks CO., Penn., and there waited the destination of the enemy. 

The British fleet sailed up the Chesapeake, and landed the army in Maryland which 
soon after defeated the Americans at Brandywine and Germantown. In the former 
action, the Virginia brigades, under Wayne and Weedon, distinguished themselves. 
The British did not follow up these victories with vigor. While the Americans lost only 
a few hundred men, these conflicts improved them in discipline, and better fitted them 
for the contest. 

Although the seat of the war was for so long a period transfer- 
red from Virginia, her soil was doomed soon to be again trod by 
the foot of the invader. Previous, however, to giving an abstract 
of the military operations which occurred here in the last few 
years of the revolutionary struggle, we shall glance at a few mat- 
ters too important to be omitted in even this brief sketch of her 
history. 

While the events above alluded to were transpiring at the 
north, Virginia was exerting every nerve, in furnishing additional 
men and means, for the common cause, and adopting energetic 
measures against the disaffected within her own bosom. Among 
them were many British merchants, settled in the towns, in whose 
hands was much of the trade. These were compelled to leave the 
state, or be taken in custody. An oath of allegiance to the com- 
monwealth, was also required of all free-born male inhabitants 



116 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

over 16 years of age. At this time, a taste for elegant literature 
and profound research prevailed throughout Virginia. The learned 
Dr. Small, of William and Mary College, had chiefly contributed 
to the diffusion of that taste before the war, through the encour- 
agement of Gov. Fauquier, " the ablest character who had then 
ever filled the chair of government in Virginia." A literary and 
scientific society was instituted, amid the excitement of revolution- 
ary scenes, of which Mr. John Page* was president, and Prof. 
James Madisonf one of the secretaries. They held a meeting in 
the capitol, and several valuable philosophical papers were read. 
The calls of war, unfortunately, prevented a ripe development of 
the association. 

A loan-office was opened at Williamsburg, to effect two resolu- 
tions of Congress for the obtaining a loan of continental money 
for the use of the United States. Another loan-office was estab- 
lished by the state, for borrowing, on the part of the commonwealth, 
one million of dollars, to supersede the necessity of emitting more 
paper money. 

It was fortunate for Virginia that she had at this time, on her western borders, an 
individual of rare military genius, in the person of Col. George Rogers Clarke, " the 
Hannibal of the West," who not only saved her back settlements from Indian fury, but 
planted her standard far beyond the Ohio. The governor of the Canadian settlements 
]n the Illinois country, by every possible method, instigated the Indians to annoy the 
frontier. Virginia placed a small force of about 250 men under Clarke, who descending 
the Ohio, hid their boats, and marched northwardly, with their provisions on their backs. 
These being consumed, they subsisted for two days on roots, and, in a state of famine, 
appeared before Kaskaskias, unseen and unheard. At midnight, they surprised and 
took the town and fort, which had resisted a much larger force ; then seizing the golden 
moment, sent a detachment who with equal success surprised three other towns. Roche- 
blave, the obnoxious governor, was sent to Virginia. On his person were found written 
instructions from Quebec, to excite the Indians to hostilities, and reward them for the 
scalps of the Americans. The settlers transferred their allegiance to Virginia, and she, 
as the territory belonged to her by conquest and charter, in the autumnal session of 1778 
erected it into a county to be called Illinois. Insulated in the heart of the Indian coun. 
try, in the midst of the most ferocious tribes, few men but Clarke could have preserved 
this acquisition. Hamilton, the governor of Detroit, a bold and tyrannical personage, 
determined, with an overwhelming force of British and Indians, to penetrate up the Ohio 
to Fort Pitt, to sweep all the principal settlements in his way, and besiege Kaskaskias. 
Clarke despaired of keeping possession of the country, but he resolved to preserve this 
post, or die in its defence. While he was strengthening the fortifications, he received 
information that Hamilton, who was at Fort St. Vincent, had weakened his force by 
sending some Indians against the frontiers. This information, to the genius of Clarke, 
disclosed, with the rapidity of an electric flash, not only safety but new glory. To resolve 
to attack Hamilton before he could collect the Indians, was the work of a moment,^the 
only hope of saving the country. With a band of 150 gallant and hardy comrades, he 
marched across the country. It was in February, 1779. When within nine miles of 
the enemy, it took these intrepid men five days to cross the drowned lands of the Wa- 
bash, having often to wade up to their breasts in water. Had not the weather been 
remarkably mild, they must have perished. On the evening of the 23d, they landed 
in sight of the fort, before the enemy knew any thing of their approach. After a siege 
of eighteen hours it surrendered, without the loss of a man to the besiegers. The 
governor was sent prisoner to Williamsburg, and considerable stores fell into the posses, 
sion of the conqueror. Other auspicious circumstances crowned this result. Clarke, 
intercepting a cotlvoy from Canada, on their way to this post, took the mail, 40 prisoners, 
and goods to the value of $45,000 ; and to crown all, his express from Virginia arrived 

* Afterwards governor of Virginia. t Subsequently bishop of the Episcopal Church. 



OUTLINE HISTORV. 117 

with the thanks of the assembly to him and his gallant band, for their reduction of the 
country about Kaskaskias. This year Virginia extended her western establishments, 
through the agency of Col. Clarke, and had several fortifications erected, among which 
was Fort Jefferson, on the Mississippi. 

On the 2d of January, 1781, the assembly, in conformity to the wishes of Congress, 
ceded to the United States her large territory northwest of the Ohio. To this liberal 
measure, Virginia was induced by a desire of accelerating the general ratification of the 
articles for the confederation of the Union. 

On the accession of Sir Henry Clinton, in the place of Sir Wil- 
liam Howe, to the chief command, the war was carried on with 
greater energy. The reduction of the south seemed an object less 
difficult, and of as much value as the north ; hence the plan of 
conquest was somewhat altered. Georgia was threatened with 
subjection by an expedition under Lieut. Col. Campbell, while Sir 
Henry Clinton prepared, in person, to invade South Carolina. 

The central position of Virginia had hitherto, in a measure, 
saved her from the incursions of the enemy. Sir Henry Clinton 
saw that the resistance of the southern states would depend much» 
upon Virginia, and he was determined to humble her pride and» 
destroy her resources. For this purpose an expedition was* 
planned, and early in May, 1779, their squadron, under Sir George 
Collier, anchored in Hampton Roads. Fort Nelson, just below 
Portsmouth, was abandoned to them, and on the 11th, the British 
general, Matthews, took possession of Portsmouth. The enemy 
destroyed large quantities of naval and military stores at Gosport 
and Norfolk ; burnt Suffolk, and many private houses, and destroy- 
ed upwards of 100 vessels. The army shortly embarked for New 
York with their plunder. 

" This destruction of private property, which ought to be held 
sacred by civilized nations at war, called for the interference of 
the Assembly. A resolve was passed in that body, requiring the 
governor to remonstrate against this cruel mode of carrying on the 
war. The fall of Charleston, and the success of the British arms 
in the south, under Lord Cornwallis, portended much evil to Vir- 
ginia. Her reduction was determined on by the commander-in- 
chief, and a plan, apparently big with success, was laid for that 
purpose. As soon as Clinton was informed of the defeat of the 
southern army by Lord Cornwallis, he dispatched Brigadier- 
General Leslie, with a force of about three thousand men, against 
Virginia. The co-operation of this detachment with the army 
under Cornwallis, who was expected to enter Virginia on the south, 
appeared fully adequate to the object in view. 

" Leslie arrived in the Chesapeake bay in October, 1780, and 
landing at Portsmouth, took possession of such vessels and other 
propert)'^ as could be found on the coast. The defeat of Major 
Ferguson, who had been ordered to manoeuvre through the north- 
ern parts of South Carolina, and was expected to join Cornwallis 
at Charlotte, caused the latter to alter his plans, and pi-evented his 
junction with Leslie. Some time elapsed before Leslie could ob- 
tain information of the situation of Cornwallis, and the circum 



118 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

Stances that occurred to prevent the important junction with that 
officer. Meanwhile the governor of Virginia was earnestly em- 
ployed in preparing to oppose the invaders. Thomas Jefferson, 
successor of Patrick Henry, was then governor of the state, and 
the assembly, composed of men selected for their wisdom and 
patriotism, was in session. At this crisis. General Greene, who 
had been appointed to succeed Gates in the command of the south- 
ern army, arrived in Richmond, on his way to the south. As much 
reliance had been placed on the supplies to be received from Vir- 
ginia, Greene was not a little embarrassed to find her in such a 
weak and exposed situation. After making such arrangements as 
he deemed necessary, he continued his journey to the south, leav- 
ing Baron Steuben to direct the defence of the state. General 
Gates had removed his head-quarters to Charlotte, and there he 
surrendered into the hands of Greene the command of the southern 
army. In the mean time, General Leslie, leaving the shores of 
Virginia, sailed for Charleston, where he found orders requiring 
him to repair with his army to Camden. On the 19th of Decem- 
ber he began his march, with about fifteen hundred men, to effect 
a junction with the army under Cornwallis. This he accomplished 
without difficulty. On the 11th of January, Cornwallis advanced 
towards North Carolina. Wishing to disperse the force under 
General Morgan, who had been manoeuvring in the western parts 
of the state, he dispatched Colonel Tarleton in pursuit of him. 
The splendid victory of the Cowpens checked the ardor of the 
pursuers, and revived the drooping spirits of the Americans. The 
southern army was, however, unable to face their enemy in the 
field ; and the movements of Cornwallis indicating a design to 
bring Greene to action, compelled the latter to retreat towards 
Virginia. This he safely accomplished, notwithstanding the vigor- 
ous pursuit of the British general, who had destroyed his baggage 
in order to effect his movements with more celerity. The van of 
the British army arrived just after the rear of the American had 
passed the Dan, which forms the dividing line between the two 
states. The next day General Greene wrote to Mr. Jefferson, 
governor of Virginia, and to Baron Steuben, giving information of 
his situation, and requesting reinforcements. 

" Early in December, 1780, Governor Jefferson received a letter 
from General Washington, informing him that preparations were 
making by the enemy at New York, for an expedition to the south, 
which was probably designed against Virginia. On the 30th, 
Brigadier-General Arnold, with near fifty sail of vessels, arrived in 
the Chesapeake, and embarking in lighter vessels, proceeded up 
James River. On receiving news of this approaching squadron, 
Mr. Jefferson dispatched General Nelson to collect and arrange a 
force with as much haste as possible, while Baron Steuben, with 
about two hundred men, marched to Petersburg. On the 4th of 
January, Arnold landed his force, consisting of about nine hundred 
men, at Westover, the seat of Mr. Byrd, and marched to Richmond 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 119 

without opposition. Thus was the metropolis of Virginia exposed 
to the insult and depredation of a traitor ; her stores and archives 
plundered, and her governor compelled to seek security by imme- 
diate flight. From Richmond, Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe was 
dispatched to Westham, where he destroyed the only cannon foun- 
dry in the state. At this place they also destroyed the military 
stores, which had, on the alarm caused by Arnold's approach, been 
removed from Richmond. After two days spent in pillaging public 
and private property. General Arnold returned to Westover, where 
on the 10th he re-embarked his men, and descended the river. On 
his way he landed detachments at Mackay's mill, and at Smithfield, 
where they destroyed some public stores ; and on the 20th, arrived 
at Portsmouth. 

" Major-General Steuben, assisted by General Nelson, having 
collected a considerable force, marched in pursuit of Arnold. But 
the movements of the latter were too rapid to be interrupted by 
the tardy advances of undisciplined militia. They were, however, 
able to prevent similar incursions, and by remaining in the vicinity 
of Portsmouth, they confined the enemy to their entrenchments. 
On hearing of the invasion of Virginia by the traitor Arnold, and 
his encampment at Portsmouth, General Washington formed a plan 
to cut off his retreat. He intimated to Count Rochambeau and 
Admiral D'Estouches, the importance of an immediate movement 
of the French fleet to the Chesapeake ; and at the same time de- 
tached the Marquis De la Fayette, with twelve hundred men, to 
Virginia. The French admiral, not entering fully into the views 
of Washington, detached only a small part of his squadron, who, 
from their inability to effect the desired purpose, returned to the 
fleet at Rhode Island. The situation of Arnold had induced Sir 
H. Clinton to detach to his aid Major-General Phillips, to whom 
the command of the British forces in Virginia was committed. 
The united detachments under Arnold and Phillips formed a body 
of about three thousand five hundred men. Being able to act on 
the offensive. General Phillips left one thousand men in Portsmouth, 
and proceeded with the remainder up James River, for the purpose 
of completing the destruction of the internal strength and resources 
of the state. Opposite to Williamsburg he landed, and from thence 
sent to Yorktown a detachment, who destroyed the naval stores in 
that place. Re-embarking, they ascended the river to City Point, 
where James River receives the waters of the Appamattox. At 
this place Phillips landed, and directed his march to Petersburg, 
which stands on the bank of the last-mentioned stream, about 
twelve miles from its junction with the former. 

" Virginia was at this time in a defenceless situation ; all the 
regular force of the state was under Greene, in South Carolina, 
and her whole reliance was upon militia, of whom about two thou- 
sand were now in the field. This force, half of which was stationed 
on each side of James River, was under the command of Baron 
Steuben and General Nelson. Steuben directed the southern divi- 



120 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

sion, on whom the defence of Petersburg devolved, and from which 
place he was compelled to retreat by the superior force of Phillips. 
During his stay in Petersburg, General Phillips destroyed the ware- 
houses, and spread terror and devastation, the constant attendants 
of British invasion, through the town. Leaving Petersburg, he 
crossed the Appamattox into Chesterfield, and detaching Arnold to 
Osborne's to destroy the tobacco at that place, he proceeded him- 
self to Chesterfield court-house, where he destroyed the barracks 
and stores which had been formed there for the accommodation of 
recruits designed for the southern army. The two divisions of the 
army uniting again, marched into Manchester, where was renewed 
the scene of pillage and devastation transacted in Petersburg and 
Chesterfield. The fortunate arrival of the Marquis De la Fayette 
at Richmond, with a body of regular troops, saved the metropolis 
from a similar fate. From Manchester, General Phillips proceeded 
down the river to Bermuda hundred, opposite City Point, where 
his fleet remained during his incursion. Here he re-embarked his 
troops, and fell down the river, while the marquis followed on the 
north side to watch his movements. He soon learned that Phillips, 
instead of returning to Portsmouth, had suddenly relanded his 
army on the south side of the river, one division at Brandon, and 
the other at City Point, and was on his march to Petersburg. It 
immediately occurred to the marquis, that a junction with Corn- 
wallis, who was then approaching Virginia, was the object which 
Phillips had in view, and to prevent which he determined to throw 
himself, by forced marches, into Petersburg before the arrival of 
that general. Phillips, however, reached that place first, and La- 
fayette halting, recrossed the river, and posted himself a few 
miles below Richmond. The death of General Phillips, soon after 
his arrival in Petersburg, devolved the command of the army 
again on General Arnold. 

" Cornwallis was now on his way to Petersburg, and having 
crossed the Roanoke, he detached Colonel Tarleton to secure the 
fords of the Meherrin, while Colonel Simcoe, with the rangers, was 
sent for the same purpose to the Nottoway. The enemy effected 
his passage over these rivers without interruption, and on the 20th 
of May entered Petersburg. In addition to this united force, which 
seemed fully sufficient to crush every germ of opposition in Vir- 
ginia, General Leslie had again made his appearance on the coast, 
with a reinforcement of two regiments and two battalions, part 
of which was stationed in Portsmouth, under the command of that 
officer. The Marquis De la Fayette continued near Richmond, 
with a force of about four thousand men, nearly three-fourths of 
whom were militia. Steuben, who was on the south side of James 
River, proceeding with about six hundred levies to reinforce Gen- 
eral Greene, was suddenly recalled, and ordered to take a position 
at the Point of Fork, where were deposited some military stores. 
General Weedon was requested to collect a force near Fredericks- 
burg, for the purpose of protecting an important manufactory of 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 121 

arms at Falmouth. In addition to these different forces, General 
Wayne was on his way to Virginia, with a detachment from the 
northern army of about nine hundred men. The strength of the 
enemy was, however, too great for any force Virginia could bring 
into the field, and her fate, as far as superior numbers and disci- 
pline could influence it, seemed now to be decided. 

" Cornwallis, after resting four days in Petersburg, proceeded 
down the south side of Appamattox and James rivers, until he 
came opposite Westover, where he determined to cross. Lafay- 
ette, informed of the enem^^'s movement, left his encampment 
below Richmond, and retreated behind the Chickahomony River, 
keeping the direction towards Fredericksburg. The enemy pursued 
him across that stream, anxious to bring him to battle before his 
junction with Wayne. Lafayette, however, escaped the impend- 
ing blow, and hastening across the Pamunky and Mattapony, the 
confluence of whose streams form York River, he endeavored to 
gain the road on which Wayne was approaching. The British 
commander, failing in his project of bringing the marquis to battle, 
thought proper to change his course, and determined to penetrate 
with his detachments the interior of the state. Lieutenant-Colonel 
Simcoe was directed to attack Baron Steuben at Point of Fork, (a 
point of land formed by the junction of the Rivanna and Fluvanna 
rivers,) and destroy the stores at that place ; while Colonel Tarle- 
ton advanced to Charlottesville, where the General Assembly was 
then convened. 

" Simcoe succeeded in driving Steuben from his post, and destroy- 
ing the magazines under his protection ; while Tarleton pushed on 
to Charlottesville, eager to add to his numerous exploits the capture 
of a corps of republican legislators. His approach, however, was 
discovered by the Assembly in time for the members to make their 
escape. Mr. Jefferson, the governor, on hearing of their approach, 
sought an asylum in the wilds of the mountain adjacent to his 
house. After destroying some military stores, which had been 
deposited in Charlottesville as a place of safety, Tarleton proceeded 
down the Rivanna, towards the Point of Fork, near to which 
Cornwallis had arrived with the main body of the army. Uniting 
with his army the different detachments, the British commander 
marched to Richmond, which he entered on the 16th of June. 
Meanwhile Lafayette had formed a junction with Wayne, and 
was watching with a cautious eye the movements of the foe. 

" After halting a few days in Richmond, Cornwallis resumed his 
march towards the coast, and on the 25th of the month arrived in 
Williamsburg, while the marquis, with a force of between four 
and five thousand men, followed close on his rear. From that place 
the British commander detached Colonel Simcoe to the Chicka- 
homony, for the purpose of destroying some boats and stores on 
that river. Colonel Butler, with a detachment from the American 
camp, was immediately sent against this party, and a severe con- 
flict ensued, in which each side claimed the victory. After remain- 

16 



122 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

ing about a week in Williamsburg, the British commander pre- 
pared to cross the river, and selected James City island as the most 
eligible place to effect a passage. In the mean time, Lafayette 
and the intrepid General Wayne pressed close on his rear, with a 
view to strike as soon as the enemy should be weakened by the 
van having crossed the river. Under a mistaken belief that the 
separation of the enemy's force had actually taken place, an attack 
was made on the whole strength of the British army drawn up in 
order of battle. The approach of night saved the American army, 
who effected a retreat after losing, in killed, wounded and prison- 
ers, upwards of a hundred men. From a belief that a grand at- 
tack was intended on New York by the combined army. Sir H. 
Clinton had ordered Cornwallis to take a position near Portsmouth 
or Williamsburg, on tide- water, with a view to facilitate the trans- 
portation of his forces to New York, or such aid as might be 
deemed necessary. In obedience to this command, Cornwallis 
selected York and Gloucester as the most eligible situations, where 
he immediately concentrated his army. The bold and discerning 
mind of Washington soon formed a plan to strike his lordship while 
encamped at York — a plan no less wisely devised than successfully 
executed. The arrival of the French fleet in the Chesapeake, at 
this juncture, contributed essentially to the completion of his de- 
signs. Count De Grasse, on obtaining intelligence from Lafay- 
ette of the situation of the enemy, immediately detached four ships 
of the line to block up York River. Washington, fearful that 
Cornwallis might attempt to retreat to the south, sent orders to La- 
fayette to take effective measures to prevent his escape ; and also 
wrote to Mr. Jefferson, who was still governor of Virginia, urging 
him to yield every aid which his situation could afford, and which 
the importance of the object required. On the 14th of September, 
General Washington arrived in Williamsburg, which was now the 
head-quarters of Lafayette, and proceeding to Hampton, the plan 
of siege was concerted with the Count De Grasse. About the 25th 
of the month the troops of the north arrived, and formed a junction 
with those under De la Fayette. The whole regular force thus 
combined, consisted of about twelve thousand men. In addition to 
these, there was a body of Virginia militia under the command of 
the brave and patriotic General Nelson. The trenches were 
opened by the combined forces on the 6th of October, at the dis- 
tance of six hundred yards from the enemy's works. On the 19th 
the posts of York and Gloucester were surrendered to the combined 
forces of America and France." 

The news of the surrender of Cornwallis spread universal joy 
throughout the country. The termination of the war was evidently 
near, — a war for constitutional liberty. In its trying scenes, Vir- 
ginia was among the foremost. When the colonies had gone too 
far to allow a hope for an honorable submission, she was the first 
to adopt a perfectly independent constitution — the first to recom- 
mend the Declaration of Independence : her great son was the first 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 123 

among the leaders of the armies of the nation, and her officers and 
soldiers, whether in the shock of battle, or marching half-clad, ill-fed, 
and barefooted, amid the snows of the north, through pestilential 
marshes, and under a burning sun at the far south, evinced a 
bravery and fortitude unsurpassed. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

FROM THE CLOSE OP THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION TO THE PRESENT TIME. 

End of the war. — Action of the Virginia Convention upon the Federal Constitution. — 
Origin of the Federal and Democratic parties. — Opposition to the Alien and Sedition 
Laws in Virginia. — Report of Mr. Madison thereon. — War of 1812. — Revision of the 
State Constitution in 1829-30. — Action of Virginia upon the subject of Slavery in 
1831-2. — Policy of the state in reference to Internal Improvement and Education. 

Although active military operations were prolonged in various 
parts of the country, especially at the south, after the capture o 
Cornwallis's army, it may be said that the war was effectually 
extinguished in Virginia by that memorable event. Most of the 
troops which had been raised for the defence of the state were in a 
short time disbanded, and although the negotiations for peace be- 
tween the two countries were rather slow in their progress, yet 
the conviction soon became general, that the signal defeat of the 
enemy at Yorktown would lead to that happy result. The states- 
men of Virginia took an active part in the discussions which fol- 
lowed the treaty of peace, growing out of the acknowledged in- 
competency of the articles of confederation to bind the states to- 
gether by ties sufficiently strong. The firmest patriots were alarm- 
ed at the symptoms of approaching dissolution, and none were 
more conspicuous in their efforts to avert that catastrophe than the 
great man who led the armies of the Republic, and achieved its in- 
dependence. The Convention which assembled in Richmond, in 
June, 1788, to ratify the federal constitution, was composed of some 
of the most illustrious men in the state. The names of Mar- 
shall,* Madison,* Monroe,* Mason,t Nicholas,! Henry,§ Ran- 

* Chief-Justice Marshall, and Presidents Madison emd Monroe. 

+ There were two Masons in the convention : George Mason, a man of transcendent 
talents, and an active participator in the formation of the first Constitution of Virginia, in 
1776 ; and Stevens Thompson Mason, who was also a man of fine abilities, and a Sena- 
tor in Congress during Washington's administration. 

X There were two gentlemen of the name of Nicholas ; Wilson Carey Nicholas, af- 
terwards governor of Vii^inia, and George Nicholas, his brother, who removed to Ken- 
tucky, and was a prominent man in that state. They have an only surviving brother. 
Judge Philip N. Nicholas, of Richmond. 

§ The celebrated Patrick Henry. 



124 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

dolph,* Pendleton,f Lee,J 'Washington,§ "Wythe,l| Innes,^ Har- 
rison,** Bland,tt Grayson,JJ and a host of others, shed a lustre 
upon the deliberations of" that august body, which has never 
been surpassed in the annals of the commonwealth. " The de- 
bates as given to the public, though no doubt imperfect, exhibit a 
display of eloquence and talents, certainly at that time unequalled 
in the' country ."§§ 

Yet it may appear strange to the present generation, that such 
was the diversity of opinion which prevailed, and so serious were 
the apprehensions entertained by many, that too much power was 
conceded to the general government by the instrument proposed 
for adoption, that it was only ratified by a lean majority of ten, out 
of 168 members, who voted on the final question. The opposite 
political opinions which were developed on that occasion, were 
strongly impressed upon the public mind, and traces of their influ- 
ence may be easily distinguished in the subsequent history of par- 
ties in Virginia. The name of federalist, which was originally ap- 
plied to those who were in favor of adopting the Constitution, 
was afterwards used to designate the party which favored that 
construction of the instrument supposed to give greater efficiency 
to the powers it conferred ; while those, for the most part, who 
were hostile to the new form of government, preferred to be distin- 
guished by the title of democrats, or republicans. |||| These dis- 
tinctions, were aggravated and widened by the subsequent action 
of Congress, and especially by the passage of the Alien and Sedi- 
tion laws, in Mr. Adams's administration. These measures en- 
countered the most decided opposition in Virginia. Mr. Madison, 
who was one of the ablest and most distinguished advocates of the 
federal constitution, conceived that its true meaning had been 
grossly perverted by the measures referred to — and having been 

* Edmund Randolph, a distinguished lawyer ; governor of Virginia, and a member of 
Washington's first Cabinet. 

t Edmund Pendleton, an eminent jurist, and president of the Court of Appeals. 

t Henry Lee, an active partisan officer of the revolution, and afterwards governor of 
the state. He was the historian of the Southern war. 

§ Bushrod Washington, nephew of George Washington, and a judge of the Supreme 
Court of the United States. 

II The venerable Judge Wythe, Chancellor of the state. 

^ James Innes, an eloquent and eminent lawyer, and attomey-gejieral of the 
state. 

** Benjamin Harrison, the father of President Harrison ; a signer of the Declaration 
of Independence, and governor of the state in 1781. 

tt Theodorlck Bland, an active officer of the revolution, in the family of Washington. 

II Mr. Grayson, an eminent lawyer and statesman, of surpassing merit. 

§§ Political and Civil History of the United States ; by the Hon. Timothy Pitkin, of 
Connecticut. 

III! The great orator, Patrick Henry, was one of the most prominent opponents to the 
adoption of the federal constitution ; but after its adoption, he determined to support the 
government in the exercise of those powers which he believed to have been legitimately 
conferred, but against the giving of which he had so earnestly contended. Accordingly 
he was elected to the Legislature, in the spring of 1799, resolved to sustain in that body 
the constitutionality of the Alien and Sedition laws. His death, which occurred before 
the meeting of the Legislature, spared him the great and perhaps unequal conflict. — See 
Witt's Life of Henry. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 125 

elected to the state legislature for the session of 1799, prepared 
his celebrated report, which received the sanction of that body, 
by a considerable majority. This report, ever since its adoption, 
has been regarded by the state-rights, or democratic party, as a 
political text-book, or authoritative exposition of the federal oon- 
stitution ; yet it is affirmcsd by their opponents, that its reasons and 
deductions have been frequently applied to cases which were not 
within the contemplation of its original framer, or of many oth- 
ers, who sanctioned its application to the Alien and Sedition 
laws. 

Passing over the minor events in the annals of the state, it may 
be sufficient to observe, that she gave a constant and cordial sup- 
port to the measures of her presidents, Jefferson and Madison, 
which were preliminary to the war of 1812, declared against Great 
Britain. During the existence of that war, she contributed liber- 
ally her treasure, and the services of her people, to the defence of 
the country. To say nothing of the distinguished men and nu- 
merous recruits with which she supplied the land and naval forces 
of the Union, instances were not wanting of the display of heroic 
valor within her own borders, in repelling the predatory and san- 
guinary depredations of the enemy. Hampton, Craney Island, the 
White House, and various other points on the Potomac, will long 
be remembered as scenesof gallant enterprise or patient endurance 
of the hardships of war. Her sons from the mountains and val- 
leys of her extensive western domain, marched with alacrity to 
the seaboard, and submitted, without murmuring, to the toils and 
perils of the camp ; and hundreds paid the forfeit of their lives in 
a climate which, to them, habit and nature had rendered uncon- 
genial and fatal. 

Although the state was a cordial and zealous supporter of the 
war, and perhaps suffered less than some of the more exposed of 
her sister commonwealths, yet she was by no means disinclined to 
peace ; although, in the opinion of many, the terms upon which 
that blessing was acquired were not precisely consistent with the 
objects for which the war was declared. This, however, is one of 
the usual contingencies upon which the mortal conflicts of nations 
are waged. They fight for principle, but are obliged to make 
peace from necessity ; and there is no truth which is taught us by 
experience more salutary, than that peace, even with its at- 
tendant disadvantages, is more tolerable than war, which places 
every thing at hazard, and is always followed by multiplied hor- 
rors. 

Nothing, perhaps, occurred of sufficient consequence to be no- 
ticed by the general annalist or historian, after the peace of 1815, 
until the period which brought about the General Convention of 
1829, assembled for the purpose of revising the state constitution; 
a frame of government which had been established prior to the 
Declaration of Independence, and which was, therefore, consecrated 
in the affections of a large portion of the people by being asso- 



126 OUTLINE HISTORY. 

ciated with revolutionary scenes and recollections. It is not to be 
denied, however, that some of the complaints of those who were 
clamorous for reform, were in themselves reasonable, even if no 
serious inconvenience and mischief had been experienced in prac- 
tic(3. The grievance which had been most earnestly dwelt upon 
in the popular discussions, was the great inequality of representa- 
tion in the state legislature. Counties of unequal size, wealth, 
and population, were represented in the state councils by an equal 
number of delegates ; and although perhaps the interests of large 
sections or divisions were fully protected in the practical operation 
of government, yet the sense of local wrong was too powerful to 
be resisted. The call of a convention was sanctioned by a ma- 
jority of the people, and that body assembled in Richmond in Oc- 
tober, 1829. No set of men of more varied talents, or of riper 
experience and wisdom, had been organized as a public body in 
Virginia, since the meeting of the state convention which ratified 
the federal constitution ; and there are many conspicuous names 
found in the proceedings of both those distinguished assemblies.* 
How strikingly different were the results of the deliberations of - 
the two conventions ! The first in the order of time contributed 
essentially to cement the union of the states, by the substitution of 
a solid fabric of government for a feeble confederation, which, in 
the language of the day, had been aptly compared to a " rope of 
sand." The labors of the latter, in the opinion of able minds, have 
not only resulted in no essential good, but in much practical mis- 
chief. Whether the opinion be or be not well-founded, it is not 
necessary to decide ; but it is certain that the amended constitu- 
tion has dissatisfied many, and that propositions have already been 
made to the legislature to adopt preliminary measures for a third 
convention. 

Virginia having the most extensive territory of any of the states 
of the Union, and being the largest slaveholder, has always been 
peculiarly sensitive in regard to that species of property. As far 
back as the first administration of Gov. Monroe, at the commence- 
ment of the present century, a well-organized insurrection of the 
slaves in the immediate vicinity of the seat of government, was 
only prevented from resulting in the most frightful consequences 
to the persons and property of the whites, by the timely interposi- 
tion of Providence. From the best authenticated accounts, found- 
ed upon evidence taken at the time by the constituted authorities, 
a large body of slaves, supposed to be a thousand in number, head- 
ed by skilful leaders, and provided with the means of offensive 

* Ex-presidents Madison and Monroe, and Chief-Justice Marshall, were mem- 
bers of both conventions. Among the conspicuous leaders in the last, may be men- 
tioned the names of B. W. Leigh, and his brother, Judge Leigh, John Randolph of 
Roanoke, Gov. Giles, Chapman Johnson, Judge Philip P. Barbour, Judge Stanard, 
Charles F. Mercer, Jno. R. Cooke, Richard Morris, Judge Summers, Judge Scott, Philip 
Dodridge, Judge Green, Littleton W. Tazewell, Gen. Robert B. Taylor, Gov. Pleas- 
ants, Judge Abel P. Upshur, and many others. 



OUTLINE HISTORY. 127 

warfare, assembled by preconcert, in the night, about six miles 
from Richmond, and resolved to attack the town before daybreak. 
No suspicion having been excited, the police was feeble and inert ; 
the inhabitants were lulled into perfect security, and nothing, it is 
believed, saved them from massacre and pillage, but a sudden and 
violent storm, accompanied by heavy rains, which rendered impas- 
sable a stream lying between the insurgents and the city. A 
young negro, attached to his master and family, was seized with 
compunction for his criminal designs, and swam the stream, at the 
hazard of life, to give information of the plot. The whole city 
was roused — troops were ordered out — the insurrection was sup- 
pressed, and the ringleaders expiated their offence on the gallows. 
The severity of the punishment inflicted upon these unhappy suf- 
ferers, it was supposed, for a long period of time, would prevent 
any similar disturbance in the state ; but unhappily, in the year 
1831, during the administration of Gov. Floyd, a still more alarm- 
ing insurrection occurred in the county of Southampton, which 
was attended by the most tragical results. A fanatical slave by 
the name of Nat Turner, with his brother, who was still more fa- 
natical, and who styled himself the prophet, rallied a band of des- 
perate followers, and, in open day, carried death and desolation 
into all the surrounding neighborhoods. Whole families of men, 
women, and children, were slaughtered without mercy, under cir- 
cumstances of peculiar barbarity ; and the insurrection was only 
suppressed by the prompt interference of the military authority. 
After the fullest investigation, the conduct of these sanguinary 
wretches could not be accounted for upon any of the usual mo- 
tives which govern men in a servile condition. As slaves, they 
were not treated with particular unkindness or severity ; and the 
only plausible solution of the problem is to be found in the sug- 
gestions of a wild superstition, excited by the unnatural and extra- 
ordinary appearance of the sun at that particular period — a phe 
nomenon which was recorded at the time, and is still well recol- 
lected. 

This painful and startling event made a deep impression upon 
the public mind. Men began to think and reason about the evils 
and insecurity of slavery ; the subject of emancipation was dis- 
cussed both publicly and privately, and was prominently introduced 
into the popular branch of the legislature at the ensuing session 
of 1831-32. The House of Delegates contained, at that time, 
many young members of shining abilities, besides others of ma- 
turer years and more established reputation ; and the debate 
which sprang up, upon the abstract proposition declaring it expe- 
dient to abolish slavery, was characterized by all the powers of 
argument and all the graces of eloquence. It was a topic emi- 
nently fitted to arouse the strongest passions of our nature, and to 
enlist the long-cherished prejudices of a portion of the Virginia 
people. After an animated contest, the question was settled by a 
kind of compromise, in which the evils of slavery were distinctly 



128 MISCELLANIES. 

recognised, but that views of expediency required that further 
action on the subject should be postponed. That a question so 
vitally important would have been renewed with more success at 
an early subsequent period, seems more than probable, if the cur- 
rent opinions of the day can be relied on ; but there were obvious 
causes in operation which paralyzed the friends of abolition, and 
have had the effect of silencing all agitation on the subject. The 
abolitionists in the northern and eastern states, gradually increas- 
ing their strength as a party, became louder in their denunciations 
of slavery, and more and more reckless in the means adopted for 
assailing the constitutional rights of the south. The open and 
avowed security given to fugitive slaves, not only by the efforts of 
private societies, but by public official acts in some of the free 
states, together with the constant circulation of incendiary tracts, 
calculated to endanger the safety of slave-holding communities, 
have awakened a spirit of proud and determined resistance ; and 
it is now almost impossible to tell when the passions shall have 
sufficiently cooled for a calm consideration of the subject. 

If Virginia has not successfully rivalled some of the more 
wealthy and populous states in the cause of general education, 
and in works of internal improvement, she has at least devoted to 
those important objects all the resources she could command with- 
out impairing her credit by too great a pecuniary responsibility. 
It is an honorable trait, that she has been careful to fulfil her en- 
gagements in the most embarrassing times. 



MISCELLANIES, 

HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL, AND DESCRIPTIVE. 

The annexed concise geographical and statistical description of Virginia, is abridged 
from Sherman & Smith's Gazetteer of the United States, and contains the results of the 
statistics and census of 1840, published by the general government. 

Virginia is 370 miles long, and 200 broad at its greatest width, containing 64,000 
square miles, or 40,960,000 acres. The population in 1790, was 747,610 in 1800, 
886,149; in 1810, 974,622 ; in 1820,1,065,366; in 1830, 1,211,272; in 1840, 1,239,797, 
of which 448,987 were slaves. Of the free white population, 371,223 were white 
males ; 369,745 ditto, females ; 23,814 were colored males ; 26,020 ditto, females. 
Employed in agriculture, 318,771 ; in commerce, 6,361 ; in manufactures and trades, 
54,147 ; navigating the ocean, 582 ; ditto, canals, rivers, and lakes, 2,952 ; learned pro- 
fessions, &c., 3,866. 

The state is divided into 123 counties and 2 districts — Eastern and Western. The 
Eastern district comprises that part of the state east of the Blue Ridge, and has 67 
counties. Population in 1840: whites, 369,398 ; free colored, 42,294; slaves, 395,250 ; 
total, 806,942. The Western district comprises that part of the state west of the Blue 
Ridge, and has 56 counties. Population : whites, 371,570 ; free colored, 7,548 ; slaves, 
53,737 ; total, 432,855. 

Richmond is the capital of the state, situated on the north side of James River, at 
the head of tidewater, and just below its lower falls. This state has a great variety 



MISCELLANIES. 129 

of surface and soil. From the Atlantic to the lower falls on the river, which includes a 
tract of from 110 to 130 miles in width, the country is low and flat, in some places 
marshy, but extensively sandy, covered with the pitch-pine. On the margin of the rivers, 
the soil is often rich. This is denominated the low country, and is unhealthy from 
August to October. Between the head of tidewater and the Blue Ridge, the country 
becomes uneven and hilly, and more so as it approaches the mountains. The soil in 
this region is some of it sandy and poor ; some of it is fertile, particularly on the margins 
of the rivers. Towards the mountains the country is stony and broken, though the soil 
is often rich. The first ridge of mountains in this state is generally about 150 miles 
from the ocean. Beyond this the country is mountainous, traversed by successive 
ridges of the Alleghany, which occupies a greater breadth of country in Virginia than 
in any otlier state. Between the various ridges, however, there are long valleys or table- 
lands, parallel with them, often of considerable breadth, and containing some of the 
best and most pleasant land in Virginia. The farms are here smaller than in other parts 
of the state, better cultivated, and there are fewer slaves. The climate in this region 
is very healthy. 

The soil in the tidewater country is generally poor, producing Indian corn, oats, and 
peas. Wheat is raised in some parts of it, and a little rice in the swamps in its southern 
part. Between tidewater and the mountains is the tobacco-country ; but in the northern 
upland counties wheat has extensively superseded tobacco ; and south of James River, 
sufficient cotton is raised for home consumption. The southeastern counties produca 
apples and peaches in great abundance. Among the mountains, the farmers raise large 
numbers of cattle and hogs. Indian corn is cultivated throughout the state. The 
country west of the mountains, towards the Ohio, is rough and wild — sometimes, but not 
generally, fertile ; but very rich as a mineral region. 

There were in this state in 1840, 326,438 horses and mules ; 1,024,148 neat cattle ; 
1,293,772 sheep ; 1,992,155 swine ; poultry to the value of $754,698. There were 
produced 10,109,716 bushels of wheat; 87,430 of barley ; 13,451,062 of oats; 1,482,799 
of rye; 243,822 of buckwheat; 34,577,591 of Indian corn; 2,538,374 pounds of 
wool ; 10,597 of hops ; 65,020 of wax ; 2,944,660 bushels of potatoes ; 364,708 tons of 
hay; 25,594of hemp and flax; 75,347,106 pounds of tobacco; 2,956 of rice; 3,494,483 
of cotton ; 3,191 of silk cocoons ; 1,541,833 of sugar. The products of the dairy 
were valued at $1,480,488; of the orchard $705,765; value of lumber produced 
$538,092 ; 13,911 gallons of wine were made. 

The mineral wealth of Virginia is very great. Gold, copper, lead, iron, coal, salt, lime- 
stone, and marble are found, together with a number of valuable mineral springs. An atten- 
tion to the business of mining has recently been excited, and in 1840, 2,000 persons 
were employed in it. The belt of country in which gold is found, extends through 
Spotsylvania county and the adjacent country, and in a southwest direction passes 
into North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. The gold in this state is not 
sufficiently concentrated to render it profitable, excepting in a few places, to engage in 
mining it. The coal fields in Virginia are very extensive, and afford both the bitumin- 
ous and anthracite. Large quantities have been obtained and exported from the vicinity 
of Richmond. Salt springs have been found in various places, and salt has been ex- 
tensively manufactured on the Great Kanawha River, near Charleston. The state 
abounds in mineral springs, which are much resorted to ; the principal are, the "White 
and Blue Sulphur, in Greenbriar ; the Salt and Red Sulphur, and Sweet, in Monroe ; 
Hot and Warm, in Bath ; Berkeley, in Morgan ; Fauquier White Sulphur, in Fauquier ; 
Shannondale, in Frederick ; Alum, in Rockbridge ; Jordan's White Sulphur, in Freder- 
ick ; Red, in Alleghany ; Grayson, in Carroll ; Bottetourt, in Roanoke ; Holston, in 
Scott ; Augusta Springs ; and Daggers Springs, in Bottetourt. 

The staple productions of the state are wheat and tobacco. The Potomac River 
separates this state from Maryland. James River is the largest which belongs to this 
state. It is 500 miles in length, and flows from the mountains in the interior, behind 
the Blue Ridge, through which it passes. It is navigable for sloops 120 miles, and for 
boats much further, and enters into Chesapeake Bay. The Appomattox is 130 miles 
long, and enters James River 100 miles above Hampton Roads, and is navigable 12 miles, 
to Petersburg. The Rappahannock rises in the Blue Ridge, is 130 miles long, is nav- 
igable 110 miles for sloops, and enters into the Chesapeake. York River enters the 
Chesapeake 30 miles below the Rappahannock, and is navigable 40 miles for ships. The 
Shenandoah enters the Potomac just before its passage through the Blue Ridge. Of the 
rivers west of the mountains, the Great Kanawha rises in North Carolina, passes through 
this state, and enters tlie Ohio. The Little Kanawha also enters the Ohio. The Mo. 
• nongahela rises in this state, though it runs chiefly in Pennsylvania. 

17 



130 



MISCELLANIES. 



The lower part of Chesapeake Bay lies wholly in this state, is 15 miles wide at its 
mouth, and enters the Atlantic between Cape Charles and Cape Henry. Norfolk, 8 
miles from Hampton Roads, has a fine harbor, much the best in the state, spacious, safe, 
and well defended ; and it is the most commercial place in Virginia ; but Richmond and 
Petersburg are more populous, and have an extensive trade. Besides these, Wheeling, 
Lynchburg, Fredericksburg, and Winchester, are the principal places. 

The exports of this state, in 1840, amounted to $4,778,220 ; and the imports to 
$545,685. There were 31 commercial and 64 commission houses engaged in foreign 
trade, with a capital of $4,299,500 ; 2,736 retail drygoods and other stores, with a cap. 
itai of $16,684,413; 1,454 persons employed in the lumber trade, with a capital of 
$113,210; 931 persons engaged in internal transportation, who, with 103 butchers, 
packers, &c., employed a capital of $100,680 ; 556 persons employed in the fisheries, 
with a capital of $28,383. 

The manufactures of Virginia are not so extensive as those of some states inferior to 
it in territory and population. There were, in 1840, domestic or family manufactures to 
the amount of $2,441,672 ; 41 woollen manufactories and 47 fulling-mills, employing 
222 persons, producing articles to the amount of $147,792, with a capital of $112,350 ; 
22 cotton manufactories, with 42,262 spindles, employing 1,816 persons, producing arti- 
cles to the amount of $446,063, with a capital of $1,299,020 ; 42 furnaces producing 
18,810 tons of cast-iron, and 52 forges &c., producing 5,886 tons of bar-iron, the whole 
employing 1,742 persons, and a capital of $1,246,650 ; 11 smelting houses employed 
131 persons, and produced gold to the amount of $51,758, employing a capital of 
$103,650 ; 5 smelting houses employed 73 persons, and produced 878,648 pounds of lead, 
employing a capital of $21,500 ; 12 paper manufactories, producing articles to the 
amount of $216,245, and other paper manufactories producing $1,260, the whole em- 
ploying 181 persons, and a capital of $287,750 ; 3,342 persons manufactured tobacco to 
the amount of $2,406,671, employing a capital of $1,526,080 ; hats and caps were 
manufactured to the amount of $155,778, and straw bonnets to the amount of $14,700, 
the whole employing 340 persons, and a capital of $85,640 ; 660 tanneries employed 
1,422 persons, and a capital of $838,141 ; 982 other leather manufactories, as saddleries, 
&c., produced articles to the amount of $826,597, and employed a capital of $341,957 ; 
4 glass-houses and 2 glass-cutting establishments employed 164 persons, producing ar- 
ticles to the value of $146,500, with a capital of $132,000 ; 33 potteries employed 64 
persons, producing articles to the amount of $31,360, with a capital of $10,225 ; 36 
persons produced drugs, paints, &c., to the amount of $66,633, with a capital of 
$61,727 ; 445 persons produced machinery to the amount of $429,858 ; 150 persons 
produced hardware and cutlery to the amount of $50,504 ; 262 persons manufactured 
9,330 small-arms ; 40 persons manufactured granite and marble to the amount of 
$16,652; 1,004 persons produced bricks and lime to the amount of $393,253; car- 
riages and wagons were manufactured to the amount of $647,815, employing 1,592 
persons, and a capital of $311,625 ; 1,454 distilleries produced 865,725 gallons, and 5 
breweries produced 32,960 gallons, employing 1,631 persons, and a capital of $187,212; 
764 flouring-mills produced 1,041,526 barrels of flour, and with other mills employed 
3,964 persons, producing articles to the amount of $7,855,499, with a capital of 
$5,184,669 ; ships were built to the amount of $136,807 ; 675 persons manufactured 
furniture to the amount of $289,391 ; 402 brick or stone, and 2,604 wooden houses 
were built, employing 4,694 persons, and cost $1,367,393 ; 50 printing offices, and 13 
binderies, 4 daily, 12 semi-weekly, and 35 weekly newspapers, and 5 periodicals, em- 
ployed 310 persons, and a capital of $168,850. The whole amount of capital employed 
in manufactures in the state was $11,360,861. 

William and Mary College, at Williamsburg, is the oldest in the state, and one of the 
oldest in the country, and was founded in 1691. Hampden Sidney College, in Prince 
Edward county, was founded in 1783, and is flourishing. Washington College, at 
Lexington, was founded in 1812. Re^ndolph Macon College, was founded at Boydton 
in 1832. Emory and Henry College, Washington county, was founded in 1839. Rec- 
tor College, Prunty Town, Taylor county, was founded in 1839. Bethany College, 
Brooke county, was founded in 1841. There are theological schools at Richmond, in 
Prince Edward county, and in Fairfax county. But the most important literary institu- 
tion in the state, is the University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, founded in 1819. Its 
plan is extensive, its endowment has been munificent, and it is a prosperous institution. 
In all these, with a few smaller institutions, there were in 1840, 1,097 students ; there 
were in the state, also, 382 academies, with 11,083 students ; 1,561 common and primary 
schools, with 35,331 scholars ; and 58,787 white persons over 20 years of age who 
could neither read nor write. 



MISCELLANIES. ' 131 

The Baptists, the most numerous religious denomination, have about 437 churches ; 
the Presbyterians 120 ; the Episcopalians, 65 ministers ; the Methodists 170. There 
are also a few Lutherans, Catholics, Unitarians, Friends, and Jews. 

In January, 1840, there were in this state 8 banks and branches, with a capital of 
$3,637,400, and a circulation of $2,513,412. At the close of the same year the pub- 
lic debt amounted to $6,857,161. There is a state penitentiary located at Richmond. 

The first constitution of Virginia was formed in 1776. This was altered and amended 
by a, convention assembled for that purpose, in 1830. The executive power is vested 
in a governor, elected by the joint vote of the two houses of the General Assembly. He 
is chosen for three years, but is ineligible for the next three. There is a council of state, 
elected in like manner for three years, the seat of one being vacated every year. The 
senior councillor is lieutenant-governor. The senators can never be more than 36, and 
the delegates than 150; and both are apportioned anew among the counties every 10 
years, commencing with 1841. The senators were elected for 4 years, and the seats of 
one fourth of them are vacated every year. The delegates are chosen annually. All 
appointments to any office of trust, honor, or profit, by the legislature, are given openly, 
or viva voce, and not by ballot. The judges of the supreme court of appeals, and of 
the superior courts, are elected by the joint vote of both houses of the general assembly, 
and hold their offices during good behavior, or until removed by a joint vote of two- 
thirds of the legislature. 

The right of suffi-age is extended to every, resident white male citizen of 21 years of 
age, entitled to vote by the former constitution ; or who owns a freehold valued at $25 ; 
or a joint interest in a freehold to that amount ; Or who has a life-estate, or a reversionary 
title to land valued at $50, having been so possessed for 6 months ; or who shall own, 
or be in occupation of, a leasehold estate, having been recorded 2 months, for a term not 
less than 5 years, to the annual value or rent of $200 ; or who for 12 months shall have 
been a housekeeper and head of a family, and paid the taxes assessed by the common- 
wealth. 

Virginia has undertaken several important works of internal improvement, by char- 
tering private companies, several of which have been liberally aided by the state. The 
Dismal Swamp Canal connects Chesapeake Bay with Albemarle Sound, extending from 
Deep Creek to Joyce's Creek, 23 miles, at a cost of $879,864. It has branches of 11 
miles. The Alexandria Canal extends 7^ miles, from Georgetown to Alexandria. The 
James River and Kanawha Canal extends 146 miles, from Richmond to Lynch, 
burg. The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad extends 75 miles, to 
Aquia Creek. Louisa branch, 25 miles from Richmond, proceeds 49 miles, to Gordons- 
ville. Richmond and Petersburg Railroad, from Richmond, extends 23 miles, to Peters- 
burg. Petersburg and Roanoke Railroad extends from Petersburg, 59 miles, to Weldon. 
Greensville Railroad extends from near Hicksford, for 18 miles, to Gaston, N. C. 
City Point Railroad extends from Petersburg, 12 miles, to City Point. Chesterfield 
Railroad extends from Coal Mines, 13^ miles, to Richmond. Portsmouth and Roanoke 
Railroad extends from Portsmouth, 8 miles, to Weldon, N. C, Winchester and Poto- 
mac Railroad extends from Harper's Ferry, 32 miles, to Winchester, 



ORIGIN OF THE APPELLATION "OLD DOMINION."* 

There is in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society, a coin of the fol- 
lowing description : on one side is a head, and the words " Georgius III. Rex. ;" on the 
other side is a shield, on which are quartered the arms of England, Scotland, Ireland, 
and Virginia. The whole surmounted by a crown, and encircled with the word, " Vir- 
ginia, 1773." 

A similar coin was dug up a few years since, and the following statement was pub- 
lished with the description of it : During the usurpation of Cromwell, the colony of Vir- 
ginia refused to acknowledge his authority, and declared itself independent. Shortly 
after, finding that Cromwell threatened to send a fleet and an army to reduce Virginia 
to subjection, and fearing the ability of this feeble state to withstand this force, she 
sent, in a small ship, a messenger to Charles II., then an exile in Breda, Flanders. 
Charles accepted the invitation to come over, and be king of Virginia, and was on the 
eve of embarking when he was recalled to the throne of England, As soon as he was 
restored to the crown of England, in gratitude for the loyalty of Virginia, he caused her 
coat of arms to be quartered with those of England, Scotland, and Ireland, as an inde- 
pendent member of the empire. 

* From the Savannah Georgian. 



132 MISCELLANIES. 

The above coin is clearly confirmatory of these facts. Hence the origin of the phrase 
" Old Dominion,'' frequently applied to Virginia. 

History does not confirm all these statements, though it establishes some, and suffi- 
ciently discloses, in the conduct of Virginia during the Protectorate of Cromwell, a cause 
for the origin of the name Old Dominion, frequently applied to Virginia. The facts, as 
gathered from a variety of creditable historians, appear to be these : 

After the death of king Charles I., and the installation of Oliver Cromwell as Protec- 
tor, the colony of Virginia refused to acknowledge his authority ; and Parliament having 
subdued opposition elsewhere, were not disposed to submit to such a resistance of its 
authority by the 20,000 inhabitants of Virginia. It issued an ordinance declaring them 
notorious robbers and traitors ; prohibited all intercourse with the refractory colonists, 
either by the people of England, the inhabitants of the other American settlements, or 
with foreign nations ; and finally, sent over a fleet, under Sir George Ayscue, to over. 
power the provincial royalists, and extinguish the last traces of monarchial authority 
that still lingered in extremities of the empire. The commissioners appointed to ac- 
company this expedition were empowered to try, in the first instance, the efficacy of par- 
dons and other conciliatory propositions, in reducing the colonists to obedience ; but if 
their pacific overtures should prove ineffectual, they were then to employ every species 
of hostile operations. 

From Barbadoes, Captain Ayscue dispatched Capt. Dennis with a small squadron to 
the Chesapeake, to land his forces, and drive Sir William Berkeley out of Virginia ; for 
during the whole preceding struggle of Charles I. and the Parliament, the Virginians 
were firm on the side of their king, and enacted a declaration, " that they were born un- 
der a monarchy, and would never degenerate from the condition of their birth, by being 
subject to any other government." After the king was beheaded, they acknowledged 
the authority of the fugitive prince, and actually continued the provincial government 
under a commission which he sent to Sir William Berkeley from his retreat at Breda. 
The young prince was not, however, actually invited over to establish a kingdom in 
Virginia ; though, according to Clarendon, Sir William Berkeley was so assured of the 
loyalty of the inhabitants, and so impressed with confidence of ultimate success, that he 
wrote to him, " almost inviting him to America .'" In these acts consisted the enmity 
of the Parliament to the governor ; and for this open defiance of its power, Virginia 
was to be ravaged by a fleet in her waters, and insidious assassins on her soil. Histo- 
rians differ greatly as to the proceedings of Sir William, after the arrival of the fleet 
within the Capes of Virginia. Several, as Beverly, (p. 45 ;) Oldmixon, (i. 375 ;) Burke, 
(European Settlements, ii. 223 ;) Graham, (i. 99,) have asserted that he made a great 
show of resistance, assisted by the Dutch ships in the harbor, and the royalists, who 
were a majority of the population. 

Bancroft, (i. 223,) citing contemporary authorities of the highest value, says, no 
sooner had the Guinea frigate entered within the waters of the Chesapeake, than (quo- 
ting from Clarendon) all thoughts of resistance were laid aside. It marks, continues 
Bancroft, the character of the Virginians ; that they refused to surrender to force, but 
yielded by a voluntary deed and mutual compact." " By the articles of surrender a com- 
plete indemnity was stipulated for all past offences ; and the colonists recognising the 
authority, were admitted into the bosom of the English commonwealth, and expressly 
assured of an equal participation in all the privileges of the free people of England. In 
particular, it provided that the Provincial Assembly should retain its wonted functions, 
and that the people of Virginia should have as free trade as the people of England to 
all places and all nations," and " shall be free from all taxes, customs, and impositions 
w^hatsoever, without the consent of their own Assembly." Berkeley disdained to make 
any stipulation for himself, with those whom his principles of loyalty taught him to re- 
gard as usurpers. Without leaving Virginia, he withdrew to a retired situation, where 
he continued to reside as a private individual, universally beloved and respected till a 
new revolution was to summon him once more to defy the republican forces of England 
and restore the ascendancy of royalty in the colony. 

This was in March, 1652: and affairs continued much in this state until 1660. In 
the mean time, Richard Bennet, Edward Digges, and Samuel Matthews, had been sever- 
ally elected by the Burgesses, Governor of Virginia, under allegiance to Oliver Crom- 
well, and on his death, 1658, to Richard Cromwell. But in 1660, Gov. Matthews died ; 
and the people, discontented with some commercial restrictions imposed by the Protec- 
torate, did not wait for a new commission from England, but elected Sir William Berke- 
ley, and " by an obliging violence compelled him to accept the government." He, however, 
refused to act under the usurpation of the Cromwells, and would not consent, unless they 
joined with him in joining their lives and fortunes for the king who was then an exile. 



MISCELLA?fIE3. 133 

"This," says Beverly, "was their dearest wish, and therefore, with a unanimous 
voice, they told him that they were ready to hazard all for the king." Now, this was 
actually before the king's return to England, and proceeded from a broad principle of 
loyalty for which they had no example. Sir William Berkeley embraced their choice, 
and forthwith proclaimed Charles II. king of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Vir- 
ginia, and caused all processes to be issued in his name. Thus his majesty was actu- 
ally king in Virginia before he was in England. On the restoration of the king he 
sent Sir William a new commission, and granted him permission to visit England. 

He was received by the monarch with much kindness ; and there is recorded a tradi- 
tion, that the king, in compliment to that colony, wore at his coronation a robe made of 
the silk which was sent from thence. Such is a condensed narration of the causes and 
incidents which gave to Virginia the honored title of the " Old Dominion." 



SLAVERY AND TOBACCO. 

The following relates to the introduction of slaves, and the cultivation of tobacco, 
with their influence on the character and condition of the inhabitants of Virginia. It is 
drawn from the Life of Jefferson, by Prof George Tucker, of the University of Virginia ; 
a work written with perspicuity and candor, and incidentally elucidating important points 
in the civil and political history of the state. 

In 1744, at the period of the birth of Mr. Jefferson, the settlements had extended about 
200 miles from the sea-coast, and in the northern part of the colony, had passed the Blue 
Ridge. The population was then about 200,000, of whom from a quarter to a third were 
slaves. 

The cultivation of tobacco, and the introduction of slaves, soon after Virginia was set- 
tled, have had a marked influence upon the habits, character, and fortunes of the coun- 
try. The introduction of tobacco, in England, about 20 years before the settlement of 
Jamestown, led to a rapid extension of its use. A demand being thus created, and a 
heavy price paid, encouraged the first settlers of Virginia to cultivate it for market, to 
the neglect of other crops. It long continued the sole article of export, and from the in- 
adequate supply of the precious metals, it became the general measure of value, the prin- 
cipal currency of the colony. In 1758, the quantity exported had increased to about 70 
millions of pounds, since which time the product has somewhat diminished. 

" As this plant requires land of the greatest fertility, and its finer sorts are produced 
only in virgin soil, which it soon exhausts, its culture has been steadily advancing west- 
wardly, where fresh land is more abundant, leaving the eastern region it has impoverish- 
ed to the production of Indian corn, wheat, and other grain. Its cultivation has thus 
generally ceased in the country below the falls of the great rivers, and in its progress to 
the west, the centre of the tobacco region is now two hundred miles from the coast. 

" The business of cultivating tobacco, and preparing it for market, requires such contin- 
ual attention, and so much, and so many sorts of handling, as to allow to the planter little 
time for any of the other useful processes of husbandry ; and thus the management of his 
dairy and orchard, and the useful operations of manuring, irrigation, and cultivating arti- 
ficial g.rasses, are either conducted in a slovenly way, or neglected altogether. The to- 
bacco district nowhere exhibits the same external face of verdure, or marks of rural 
comfort and taste, as are to be seen in those countries in which its culture has been 
abandoned. 

" But the most serious consequence of the tobacco cultivation is to be found in the in- 
crease of slaves ; for though it did not occasion their first introduction, it greatly en- 
couraged their importation afterwards. It is to the spirit of commerce, which in its un- 
distinguished pursuit of gain, ministers to our vices no less than to our necessary wants, 
that Virginia owes this portentous accession to her population. A Dutch ship from the 
coast of Guinea entered James River, in 1620, thirteen years after the first settlement of 
Jamestown, and sold twenty of her slaves to the colonists. 

" The large profits which could be made from the labor of slaves, while tobacco sold at 
three shillings sterling a pound, equal to about ten times its ordinary price now, greatly 
encouraged their further importation, by giving to the planters the means of purchasing as 
well as the inclination ; and the effect would have been much greater, if they had not 
been continually supplied with labor from the paupers, and sometimes the convicts, who 
were brought from England and sold to the planters for a term of years, to defray the 
expenses of their transportation. 



134 MI.?CELLANIE3. 

" This supply of English servants, together with the gradual fall in the price of tobacco, 
had so checked the importation of slaves, that in the year 1671, according to an official 
communication from the governor, Sir William Berkeley, while the whole population 
was but 40,000, the number of indented servants was 6,000, and that of the slaves was 
but 2,000. The importations of the latter, he says, did not exceed two or three cargoes in 
seven years, but that of servants, of whom he says, ' most were English, few Scotch, and 
fewer Irish,' he estimates at 1,500 annually. 

" But in process of time, slave labor was found preferable to that of indented white ser- 
vants, partly because the negro slaves were more cheaply fed and clothed than the labor- 
ers who were of the same race as the masters, but principally because they were less able 
to escape frpm bondage, and were more easily retaken. The colonial statute book af- 
fords abundant evidence of the frequency and facility with which the indented servants 
ran away from their masters ; and the extent of the mischief may be inferred from the se- 
verity of its punishment. In 1642, runaway servants were liable, for a second offence, to 
be branded on the cheek ; though fifteen years afterwards the law was so far mitigated as 
to transfer this mark of ignominy to the shoulder. In 1662, their term of service, which 
did not often exceed four or five years, might, for the offence of running away, be pro- 
longed, at the discretion of a magistrate, and the master might superadd ' moderate cor- 
poreal punishment.' In the following year, this class of persons, prompted by the con- 
victs who had been sent over after the restoration of Charles the Second, formed a con- 
spiracy of insurrection and murder, which was discovered just in time to be defeated. 
Seven years afterwards, in 1670, the governor and council took upon themselves to pro- 
hibit the further importation of convicts, whom they call ' jail birds ;' and they assign 
this conspiracy as one of their motives for the order. The privilege, too, enjoyed by the 
servant of complaining to the magistrate for the harsh treatment of his master, either as 
to food, clothing, or punishment, formed, no doubt, a further ground of preference for 
slaves, who had no such inconvenient rights. 

" Under the united influence of these circumstances the number of negro slaves so in- 
creased, that in 1732, the legislature thought proper to discourage their further importa- 
tion by a tax on each slave imported ; and not to alarm the commercial jealousy of Eng- 
land, the law, conforming to the notions of the age, formally provided for what no mode 
of levying the tax could have prevented, that the duty should be paid by the purchaser. 
This duty was at first five per cent, on the value of the slave, but in a few years after- 
wards, (1740,) it was increased to ten per cent., from which it was never reduced. It did 
not, however, prevent large importations, for we find the number to have increased in 119 
years, in the ratio of 1 to 146 ; that is, from 2,000 in the year 1671, to 293,427 in 1790 ; 
while in the same period the whites had increased only as 1 to 12, or from 38,000 to 
454,881. In the forty years which have elapsed, from the first to the last census, it is 
gratifying to perceive that the increase of the free population in Virginia has been some- 
what greater than that of the slaves, in the proportion of 63 per cent, to 60, and that this 
comparative gain seems to be gradually increasing. 

" As Eastern Virginia is everywhere intersected by navigable rivers, which are skirted 
on either side by rich alluvial lands, the early settlers, whose plantations were principally 
along the margins of the rivers, were able to carry on a direct intercourse with foreign 
countries, from their separate dwellings. Thus commerce, by the very diffusion of its 
most important natural facilities, did not here concentrate in a few favorable spots, and 
foster the growth of towns, as in most of the other colonies ; and at the beginning of the 
revolution, Williamsburg, the seat of government, and the largest town in Virginia, itself 
the most populous of the colonies, did not contain 2,000 inhabitants. But as the bees 
which form no hive, collect no honey, the commerce, which was thus dispersed, accumu. 
lated no wealth. The disadvantages of this dispersion were eventually perceived by 
the colonists, and many efforts were made by the legislature to remedy the mischief by 
authorizing the establishment of towns orv selected sites, and giving special privileges and 
immunities to those who built, or those who resided on them. Their purpose was also 
favored, and even stimulated by the government, from fiscal considerations. But most 
of these legislative efforts failed, and none were very successful. Thus in 1680, as many 
as twenty towns were authorized by act of assembly, being one for each county ; yet at 
not more than three or four of the designated spots is there even a village remaining to 
attest the propriety of the selection. 

" There were indeed wanting in the colony all the ordinary constituents of a large 
town. Here were no manufactories to bring together and employ the ingenious and in- 
dustrious. The colonists, devoting themselves exclusively to agriculture, owned no ship- 
ping, which might have induced them to congregate for the sake of carrying on their 
foreign commerce to more, advantage: here was no court, which by its splendor and 



MISCELLANIES. 135 

amusements might attract the gay, the voluptuous, and the rich : there was not even a 
class of opulent landlords, to whom it is as easy to live on their rents in town as in the 
country, and far more agreeable. But the very richest planters all cultivated their own 
land with their own slaves; and while those lands furnished most of the materials of a 
generous, and even profuse hospitality, they could be consumed only where they were 
produced, and could neither be transported to a distance, nor converted into money. 
The tobacco, which constituted the only article of export, served to pay for the foreign 
luxuries which the planter required ; yet, with his social habits, it was barely sufRcient 
for that purpose, and not a few of the largest estates were deeply in debt to the Scotch 
or English merchants, who carried on the whole commerce of the country. Nor was 
this system of credit more eagerly sought by the improvident planter, than it was given 
by the thrifty and sagacious trader ; for it afforded to him a sure pledge for the consign- 
ment of tiie debtor's crop, on the sales of which his fair perquisites amounted to a liberal 
profit, and if he was disposed to abuse his trust, his gains were enormous. The mer- 
chants were therefore ready to ship goods, and accept bills of exchange on the credit of 
future crops, while their factors ia the colony took care in season to make tlie debt safe 
by a mortgage on the lands and slaves of the planter. Some idea of the pecuniary 
thraldom to which the Virginia planter was formerly subjected may be formed from the 
fact, that twice a year, at a general meeting of the merchants and factors in Williams- 
burg, they settled the price of tobacco, the advance on the sterling cost of goods, and 
the rate of exchange with England. It can scarcely be doubted that the regulations 
were framed as much to the advantage of the merchants as they believed it practicable 
to execute. Yet it affords evidence of the sagaeious moderation with which this deli- 
cate duty was exercised, that it was not so abused as to destroy itself. 

" This state of things exerted a decided influence on th*e manners and character of the 
colonists, untrained to habits of business and possessed of the means of hospitality. 
They were open-handed and open-hearted ; fond of society, indulging in all its pleas- 
ures, and practising all its courtesies. But these social virtues also occasionally ran into 
the kindred vices of love of show, haughtiness, sensuality — and many of the wealthier 
class were to be seen seeking relief from the vacuity of idleness, not merely in the al- 
lowable pleasures of the chase and the turf, but in the debasing ones of cock-fighting, 
gaming, and drinking. Literature was neglected, or cultivated by the small number 
who had been educated in England, rather as an accomplishment and a mark of distinc- 
tion, than for the substantial benefits it confers. 

"Let us not, however, overrate the extent of these consequences of slavery. If the ha- 
bitual exercise of authority, united to a want of steady occupation, deteriorated the char- 
acter of some, it seemed to give a greater elevation of virtue to others. Domestic slave- 
ry, in fact, places the master in a state of moral discipline, and according to the use he 
makes of it, is he made better or worse. If he exercises his unrestricted power over the 
slave, in giving ready indulgence to his humors or caprice — if he habitually yields to 
impulses of anger, and punishes whenever he is disobeyed, or obeyed imperfectly, he is 
certainly the worse for the institution which has thus afforded aliment to his evil pro- 
pensities. But if, on the other hand, he has been taught to curb these sallies of passion, 
or freaks of caprice, or has subjected himself to a cuurseof salutary restraint, he is con- 
tinually strengthening himself in the virtues of self-denial, forbearance, and moderation^ 
and he is all the better for the institution which has afforded so much occasion for the 
practice of tiiose virtues.* If, therefore, in a slave-holding country, we see some of the 
masters made irascible, cruel, and tyrannical, we see many others as remarkable for their 
mildness, moderation, and self-command ; because, in truth, both the virtues of the one* 
and the vices of the other are carried to the greater extreme by the self-same process of 
habitual exercise." 



INDIANS OF EASTERN VIRGINIA.t 

According to the account of Captain John Smith, that part of Virginia that lies be^ 
tween the sea and the mountains, was inhabited by forty-three different tribes of Indians. 
Thirty of these were united in a grand confederacy under the emperor Powhatan. The 
dominions of this mighty chief, who was long the most powerful rival, and most impla- 

* The character of the Presidents which Virginia has furnished, may be appealed to- 
for a confirmation of this view ; and many living illustrations will readily present them- 
selves to all who have a personal knowledge of the southern states. 

f" This article is from the various histories of Virginia. 



136 



MISCELLANIES. 



cable foe, with whom the English had to contend, extended over that part of the country 
that lies south of the Potomac, between the coast and the falls of the rivers. 

In comparison with civilized countries, this extensive territory contained but a scanty 
population. The Powhatan confederacy consisted of but about eight thousand inhabit- 
ants. 




Indian in a summer dress. 



Indian Priest. 



Besides this confederacy, there were two others which were combined against that of 
Powhatan. These were the Mannahoacks and Manakins ; the former of whom, con- 
sisting of eight tribes, occupied the country lying between Rappahannock and York 
rivers ; and the latter, consisting of five tribes, was settled between York and James 
rivers, above the falls. Besides these, were the Nottoways, the Meherricks, the Tute- 
loes, and several other scattering and independent tribes. 

The hereditary dominions of Powhatan lay on James River, which originally bore 
his name.* He had a seat on this river, about a mile below the falls, where Richmond 
now stands, and another at Werowocomoco on the north side of York River, within the 
present county of Gloucester. 

This monarch was remarkable for the strength and vigor of his body, as well as for 
the energies of his mind. He possessed great skill in intrigue and great courage in bat- 
tle. His equanimity in the career of victory, was only equalled by his fortitude in the 
hour of adversity. If he had many vices incident to the savage life, he had some vir- 
tues seldom found among the civilized. He commanded a respect rarely paid by sav- 
ages to their werowance, and maintained a dignity and splendor worthy the monarch of 
thirty nations. He was constantly attended by a guard of forty warriors, and during 
the night a sentry regularly watched ,his palace. Though unlimited by custom in the 
number of his wives, his seraglio exhibited the apathy of the Indian character. When he 



* Powhatan, Arrowhattock, Appamattock, Pamunkey, Youghtanund, and Mattapo- 
mcnt, descended to him from his ancestors. 



MISCELLANIES. 1 37 

slept, one of his women sat at his head and another at his feet. When he dined they 
attended him with water, or brought him a bunch of feathers to wipe his hands. His 
regalia, free from the glitter of art, showed only the simple royalty of the savage. He 
wore a robe composed of skins, and sat on a throne spread with mats, and decked with 
pearls and with beads. The furniture of his palace, like the qualities of his mind, waa 
adapted to war, and the implements of death, rather than of pleasure, garnished his 
halls. 

The figures in the annexed engraving, representing an Indian in his summer dress, 
and an Indian priest, were copied from those given in Beverly's History of Virginia, 
published in London, in 1722. The figure on the left, (the Indian in his summer dress,) 
is thus described : 

The upper part of his hair is cut short to make a ridge, which stands up like the 
comb of a cock, the rest is either shorn off" or knotted behind his ear. On his head are 
Stuck three feathers of the wild turkey, pheasant, hawk, or such like. At his ear is 
hung a fine shell, with pearl drops. At his breast is a tablet or fine shell, smooth as pol- 
ished marble, which also hath sometimes etched on it a star, half-moon, or other figure, 
according to the maker's fancy ; upon his neck and wrists hang strings of beads, peak, 
and roenoke. His apron is made of a deer skin, gashed around the edges, which hang 
like tassels or fringe ; at the upper end of the fringe is an edging of peak, to make it 
finer. His quiver is of a thin bark ; but sometimes they make it of the skin of a fox, or 
young wolf, with the head hanging to it, which has a wild sort of terror in it ; and to 
make it yet more warlike they tie it on with the tail of a panther, buffalo, or such like, 
letting the end hang down between their legs. The pricked lines on his shoulders, breast, 
and legs, represent the figures painted thereon. In his left hand he holds a bow, and in 
his right an arrow. The mark upon his shoulder-blade, is a distinction used by the 
Indians in travelling, to show the nation they are of — and perhaps is the same with 
that which Baron Lahontan calls the arms and heraldry of the Indians. Thus, the 
several lettered marks are used by several other nations about Virginia, when they make 
a journey to their friends and allies. 

The habit of the Indian priest, is a cloak made in the form of a woman's petticoat ;■ 
but instead of tying it about their middle, they fasten the gatherings about their neck, 
and tie it upon the right shoulder, always keeping one arm out to use upon occasion. 
This cloak hangs even at the bottom, but reaches no lower than the middle of the 
thigh ; but what is most particular in it is, that it is constantly made out of a skin dtessed 
soft, with the pelt or fur on the outside, and reversed ; insomuch that when the cloak 
has been a little worn, the hair falls dovirn in flakes, and looks very shagged and' 
frightful. 

The cut of their hair is likewise peculiar to their function ; for 'tis aH shaved close, 
except a thin crest, like a cock's comb, which stands bristling up, and runs- in a semi- 
circle from the forehead up along the crown to the nape of the neck. They likewise 
have a border of hair over the forehead, which, by its own natural strength, and by the 
stiffening it receives from grease and paint, will stand out like the peak of a bonnet. 

The face of the Indian, when arrived at maturity, is a dark brown and chesnut. By a 
free use of bear's grease, and a continual exposure to the sun and weather, it becomes 
harder and darker. This, however, is not the natural complexion. In infancy they are 
much fairer.* Their hair is almost invariably of a coal black, straight, and long ; their 
cheek bones are high, and their eyes black and full of a character of wildhess and fero- 
city that mark their unappeasable thirst of vengeance, and their free and uncontrolled in- 
dulgence of every fierce and violent passion. But the education of an Indian, which com- 
mences almost with his birth, teaches him that dissimulation, which masks the thought 
and smooths the countenance, is the most useful of virtues ; artd there is a continual effort 
to check the fierce sallies of the eye, and keep down the consuming rage of his bosom. 
His eye, therefore, is generally averted or bent downwards. The terrible complacency 
of the tiger is no inapt illustration of an Indian visage. 

The figure of an Indian is admirably proportioned beyond any thing that has hitherto' 
been seen of the human form. Tall, straight ; their muscles hardened by the continual 
action of the weather ; their limbs supple by exercise, and perhaps by the use of oil, they 

* " They are very swarthy," says Charlevoix, speaking of the Canadians, "■ an(3 of a 
dirty dark red. But this is not their natural complexion. The frequent frictions they 
use give them this red, and it is surprising that they are not blacker ; being continually 
exposed to the smoke in winter, to the great heat in summer, and in all seaisons to the 
inclemencies of the air." 

18 



138 MISCELLANIES. 

outstrip the bear, and run down the buck and the elk. No such thing is to be found as a 
dwarfish, crooked, bandylegged, or otherwise misshapen Indian. 

The power and qualities of their minds are such as we should expect from their state 
of society. In a state of nature the mind of man differs but little from the animals 
around him. Occupied in supplying his wants or gratifying his resentments, he has but 
little time or inclination for the labors of calculation or the refinements of abstraction. 
The sensible objects with which he is most conversant, impress themselves on his memory 
in the order and degrees of their importance ; but their classification, and the faculty 
of generalizing them by an idea and term that shall take in all the particulars and 
classes, are the result of deep thought and intense reflection. For this, leisure and ap- 
plication are necessary. But the time of the Indian, after returning successful from the 
chase, or victorious from the battle, is too valuable to be employed in such trifles. His 
duty it is to spread the feast ; to hear the praises of the old men, and the congratula- 
tions of the women ; to attend the great council of the nation, and to sing the history of 
his own exploits. If any time remain after discharging those duties, he exercises him- 
self in shooting the arrow or throwing the tomahawk ; or stretched at length along the 
grass, enjoys that luxury of indolence which constitutes the supreme blessing of his ex- 
istence. 

The idea of numbers is, therefore, very limited among the tribes. Some of them can 
reckon a thousand, while others cannot exceed ten ; to express any greater number they 
are compelled to resort to something indefinite. As numerous as the pigeons in the 
woods, or the stars in the heavens, is a mode of expression for any greater number. For 
the same reason, their language has no term for the abstract ideas of time, space, univer- 
sal, &c. There is, however, a conjecture, which, if true, will prove that the Indians of 
Virginia had a more copious arithmetic. It is suggested that Tomocomoco or Uttomac- 
comac was sent to England by Powhatan, for the purpose of procuring an exact account 
of the number of the people of England. Tomocomoco made the attempt till his arith- 
naetic failed ; but before he would be sent on such an errand, he must have been able to 
reckon the Powhatans, and these, according even to the lowest estimates, amounted to 
eight thousand. 

It has been said that the Indian is the most improvident of animals ; that, satisfied 
with his present enjoyments, he wastes no thought on the morrow, and that repeated 
calamities have added nothing to his care or foresight. This may have been true of 
some of the tribes in South America, or in the islands. The North American, and more 
especially the Virginian, always had their public stock hoarded. Powhatan and the 
other sachems carried on a continual trade with the first colonists for corn, and we find 
that Raleigh, Baltimore, and Fenn, derived their principal support from similar sources. 
But the quantity of labor and industry required for raising this superfluity was compara- 
tively nothing. A few did not, as in established societies, work for the support of the 
whole, and for the purpose of enabling the rich to vend their surplus commodities in for- 
eign markets. Here every man labored for himself, or for the common stock, and a few 
days in every year were sufficient for the maintenance of each man, and by conse- 
quence, of all the members of the tribe. 

The Indians of Virginia have no written laws, but their customs, handed down from 
age to age in the traditions of their old men, have all the force of the best-defined and 
positive institutions. Nor is this respect acquired by the fear of punishment. The 
aborigines of Virginia, whatever may be pretended, enjoyed complete freedom. Their 
sachems made their own tools and instruments of husbandry. They worj|ced in the 
ground in common with the other Indians. They could enter into no measure of a pub- 
lic nature without the concurrence of the matchacomoco or grand council ; and even 
after this body had decided on the merits of the question, the consent of the people at 
large was necessary to sanction their proceedings. If the voice of this council be in 
favor of war, the young men express their approbation by painting themselves of various 
colors, so as to render their appearance horrible to their enemies. In this state they 
rush furiously into the council : they begin the war dance, accompanying their steps 
with fierce gestures, expressive of their thirst of vengeance ; and describing the mode in 
which they will surprise, wound, kill, and scalp their enemies. After this they sing 
their own glories ; they recount the exploits of their ancestors, and the ancient glories of 
their nation. 

The Indian festival dance, says Beverly, is performed by the " dancers themselves 
forming a ring, and moving round a circle of carved posts, that are set up for that pur- 
pose ; or else round a fire, made in a convenient part of the town ; and then each has 
his rattle in his hand, or what other thing he fancies most, as his bow and arrows, or his 
tomahawk. They also dress themselves up with branches of trees, or some other strange 



MISCELLANIES. 139 

accoutrements. Thus they proceed, dancing and singing, with all the antic postures 
they can invent ; and he is the bravest fellow that has the most prodigious gestures." 




Indian Festival Dance 

When any matter is proposed in the national council, it is common for the chiefs of 
the several tribes to consult thereon apart with their counsellors, and when they have 
agreed, to deliver the opinion of the tribe at the national council, and as their govern, 
ment seems to rest wholly on persuasion, they endeavor, by mutual concessions, to obtain 
unanimity. Their only controls are their manners and their moral sense of right and 
wrong, which, like tasting and smelling, in every man makes part of his nature. 

An offence against these is punished by contempt, by exclusion from society, or when 
the case is serious, as in murder, by the individuals whom it concerns. 

The Indians of Virginia had no idea of distinct and exclusive property ; the lands were 
in common, and every man had a right to choose or abandon his situation at pleasure. 
Their mode of computation, as with us, was by units, tens, and hundreds. There is no 
light on the records by which we may discover its limits or extent. Analogy affords no 
helps on this occasion. The Iroquois could reckon a thousand, while other tribes, al- 
most in their neighborhood, could count no further than ten. 

They reckon their years by winters, or cohonks, as they call them, which was a name 
taken from the note of the wild geese, intimating so many times of the wild geese com- 
ing to them, which is every winter. 

They distinguish the several parts of the year by five seasons, viz. : the budding or 
blossoming of the spring ; the earing of the corn, or roasting ear time ; the summer, or 
highest sun ; the corn-gathering, or fall of the leaf ; and the winter, or cohonks. 

They count the months by the moons, though not with any relation to so many in a 
year as we do ; but they make them return again by the same name, as the moon of 
stags, the corn moon, the first and second moon of cohonks." 

They have no distinction of the hours of the day, but divide it only into three parts, 
the rise, the power, and lowering of the sun ; and they keep their accounts by knots on 
a string, or notches on a stick, not unlike the Peruvian Quippoes. 

If we believe the accounts of Smith and Beverly, the Indians of Virginia were grossly 
superstitious, and even idolatrous. The annexed engraving is a representation of their 
idol Okee, Quioccos, or Kiwasa, copied from one in Beverly's History. " They do not 
look upon it as one single being, but reckon there are many of the same nature ; they 
likewise believe that there are tutelar deities in every town." 

Although they have no set days for performing the rites of religion, they have a num- 
ber of festivals, which are celebrated with the utmost festivity. They solemnize a day 
for the plentiful coming of their wild fowl, such as geese, ducks, teal, &.c. ; for the re- 
turns of their hunting seasons ; and for the ripening of certain fruits. But the greatest 
annual festival they have is at the time of their corn-gathering, at which they revel 
several days together. To these they universally contribute, as they do to the gathering 
of the corn : on this occasion they have their greatest variety of pastimes, and more 
especially of their war dances and heroic songs ; in which they boast that their corn 
being now gathered, they have store enough for their women and children, and hav« 
nothing to do but go to war, travel, and to seek for new adventures. 



140 



MISCELLANIES. 



There is a second annual festival, conducted with still greater solemnity. It com- 
mences with a fast, which exceeds any thing of abstinence known among the most mor- 
tified hermits. This fast is succeeded by a feast. The old fire is put out, and a new fire, 
called the drill fire, elicited by the friction of two pieces of wood. They sprinkle sand 
on the hearths, and, to make the lustration complete, an emetic is taken by the whole 
nation. At this meeting all crimes, except murder, are pardoned, and the bare mention 
of them afterwards is considered as disreputable. At the close of this festival, which 
continues four days, a funeral procession commences, the signification of which is that 
they bury all the past in oblivion, and the criminals having tasted of the decoction of 
casina, are permitted to sit down by the men they have injured. 

The ceremony of huskanawing returns after an interval of fourteen or sixteen years, 
or more frequently, as the young men happen to arrive at maturity. This is intended 
as a state of probation, preparatory to tlieir being initiated into the class of warriors and 
counsellors. The candidates are first taken into the thickest part of the forest, and kept 
in close and solitary confinement for several months, with scarcely any sustenance 
besides an infusion or decoction of some intoxicating roots. This diet, added to the 
severity of the discipline, invariably induces madness, and the fit is protracted for 
eighteen days. During the paroxysms they are shut up in a strong enclosure, called an 
huskanaw pen, " one of which," says Beverly, " I saw belonging to the Pamaunkie 
Indians, in the year 1694. It was in shape like a sugar-loaf, and every way open like 
a lattice for the air to pass through." When their doctors suppose they have drunk a 




Indian Idol. 

sufficient portion of the intoxicating juice, they gradually restore them to their senses by 
lessening the quantity of the potion, and before they recover their senses they are 
brotight back to the town. This process is intended to operate like Lethe on their mem- 
ory : " To release the youth from all their childish impressions, and from that strong 
partiality to persons and things which is contracted before reason takes place. So that 
when the young men come to themselves again, their reason may act freely without be- 
ing biased by the cheats of custom and education. Thus they also become discharged 
from any ties by blood ; and are established in a state of equality and perfect freedom, to 
order their actions and dispose of their persons as they think proper, without any other 
control than the law of nature." 

Marriage, or the union of husband and wife, stood precisely on the same footing as 
among the other American tribes. A man might keep as many wives as he could 
support : but in general they had but one, whom, without being obliged to assign any 
reason, they might at any time abandon, and immediately form a new engagement. 
The rights of the woman are the same, with this difference, that she cannot marry 
again until the next annual festival. 



MISCELLANIES. 141 

Courtship was short, and, like their marriage, unembarrassed by ceremony. If the 
presents of a young warrior are accepted by his mistress, she is considered as having 
agreed to become his wife, and without any further explanations to her family, she goes 
home to his hut. The principles that are to regulate their future conduct are well under- 
stood. He agrees to perform the more laborious duties of hunting and fishing ; of felling 
the tree, erecting the hut, constructing the canoe, and of fighting the enemies of the 
tribe. To her, custom had assigned almost all the domestic duties ; to prepare the food ; 
to watch over the infancy of the children. The nature of their lives and circumstances 
added another, which, with more propriety, taking in a general view, should have been 
exercised by the male. It belonged to the women to plant the corn, and attend all the 
other productions of an Indian garden or plantation. But the labor required for raising 
these articles was trifling, and the warriors, being engaged in hunting and war, had 
neither leisure nor inclination to attend to objects of such inferior consideration. 

To compensate for this seeming hardship or neglect, the women had several valuable 
privileges, that prove their importance, and the respect entertained for them by the 
men. All the honors of an Indian community are maternal, and the children, in the 
event of a separation, belong to the wife. The husband is considered only as a visitor ; 
and, should any difference arise, he takes up his gun and departs. Nor does this sepa- 
ration entail any disgrace upon the parties. 

If any credit be due to the accounts of our early historians, the women in the Pow- 
hatan confederacy had considerable weight. Some of the tribes had even female 
sachems, a regulation which could not have been tolerated by freemen and warriors, if, 
as has been imagined by some historians, they had been regarded only as objects of con- 
tempt and ill-usage. What agitation and sorrow were not excited by the death of Poca- 
hontas, and how anxious the inquiries of her family respecting her health and her feel- 
ings, her content and her return 1 

It was no uncommon spectacle to see groups of young women, almost naked, frisking 
with wanton modesty in the wild gambols of the dance. Even the decent Pocahontas 
did not disdain to mingle in those pastimes. Crowned- with a wreath of leaves and 
flowers, she sometimes led the chorus and presided in the dance. Nor should this be 
regarded as a deviation from the rules of modesty and innocence. They acted agreeably 
to the usage of-their country and the dictates of nature. Every object inspired happi- 
ness and content, and their only care was to crowd as many pleasures as possible into 
the short span of a fleeting existence. 

The following summary account of the Indians in Virginia, as they were about the 
year 1700, is from Beverly's History of Virginia. 

The Indians of Virginia, east of the Blue Ridge, are almost wasted, but such towns 
or people as retain their names and live in bodies, are hereunder set down ; a,ll which 
together cannot raise five hundred fighting men. They live poorly, and much in fear of 
the neighboring Indians. Each town, by the articles of peace, 1677, pays three Indian 
arrows for their land, and twenty beaver-skins for protection, every year. 

In Accomack are eight towns, viz : Matomkin is much decreased of late by the small- 
pox, that was carried thither. Gingoteque ; the few remains of this town are joined 
with a nation of the Maryland Indians. Kiequotank is reduced to a very few men. 
Matchopungo has a small number yet living. Occahanock has a small number yet 
living. Pungoteque ; governed by a queen, but a small nation. Oanancock has but 
four or five families. Chiconessex has very few, who just keep the name. Nanduye : 
a seat of the empress ; not above twenty families, but she hath all the nations of the 
shore under tribute. In Northampton, Gangascoe, which is almost as numerous as all 
the foregoing nations put together. In Prince George, Wyanoke is extinct. In Charles 
City, Appamattox, extinct. In Surry, Nottaways, which are about a hundred bowmen, 
of late a thriving and increasing people. By Nansamond : Menheering, has about 
thirty bowmen, who keep at a stand. Nansamond : about thirty bowmen : they 
have increased much of late. In King William's county, Pamunkie has about forty 
bowmen, who decrease. Chickahomonie, which had about sixteen bowmen, but lately 
increased. In Essex : Rappahannock, extinct. In Richmond : Port Tabago, extinct. 
In Northumberland : Wiccomocco has but few men living, which yet keep up their 
kingdom, and retain their fashion ; yet live by themselves, separate from all other In- 
dians, and from the English. 



142 MISCELLANIES. 



The following able article, from Tucker's Life of Jefferson, relates to the " Abolition 
of Entails. — Primogeniture. — Their effects considered. — Church establishment in Vir- 
ginia — its gradual abolition. — Entire freedom of religion." 

On the 11th of October, 1776, three days after Mr. Jefferson had taken his seat in 
the legislature, he brought in a bill for the establishment of Courts of Justice, which 
was subsequently approved by the House and passed. Three days afterwards, he intro- 
duced a bill to convert estates in tail into fee-simple. This, he avows, was a blow at 
the aristocracy of Virginia. 

In that colony, in the earlier periods of its history, large grants of land had been ob- 
tained from the crown by a few favored individuals, which had been preserved in their 
families by means of entails, so as to have formed, by degrees, a patrician class among 
the colonists. These modes of continuing the same estates in the same family, found a 
protection here which they could not obtain in the mother country ; for, by an act passed 
in the year 1705, the practice of docking entails, which had previously prevailed in 
Virginia as in England, was expressly prohibited ; and whenever the peculiar exigen- 
cies of a family made it necessary that this restraint or alienation should be done away, 
it could be effected only by a special act of Assembly. 

The class which thus provided for the perpetuation of its wealth, also monopolized 
the civil honors of the colony. The counsellors of the state were selected from it, by 
reason of which the whole body commonly had a strong bias in favor of the crown, in 
all questions between popular right and regal prerogative. It is but an act of justice to 
this class to state, that although some of them might have been timid and hesitating in 
the dispute with the mother country — disposed to drain the cup of conciliation to the 
dregs — yet, others were among the foremost in patriotic self-devotion and generous sac- 
rifices ; and there was but a small proportion of them who were actually tories, as those 
who sided with Great Britain were then denominated. 

Mr. Jefferson was probably influenced less by a regard to the conduct of the wealthy 
families in the contest, than by the general reason which he thus gives : " To annul 
this privilege, and instead of an aristocracy of wealth, of more harm and danger than 
benefit to society, to make an opening for the aristocracy of virtue and talent, which 
nature has wisely provided for the direction of the interests of society, and scattered 
with an equal hand through all its conditions, was deemed essential to a well-ordered 
republic." 

The repeal of this law was effected, not without a struggle. It was opposed by Mr. 
Pendleton, who, both from age and temper, was cautious of innovation ; and who, find- 
ing some change inevitable, proposed to modify the law so far as to give to the tenant 
in tail the power of conveying in fee-simple. This would have left the entail in force, 
where the power of abolishing it was not exercised ; and he was within a few votes of 
saving so much of the old law. 

This law, and another subsequently introduced by Mr. Jefferson, to abolish the prefer- 
ence given to the male sex, and to the first-born, under the English common law, have 
effectually answered their intended purpose of destroying the gross inequality of for- 
tunes which formerly prevailed in Virginia. They have not merely altered the distribution 
of that part of the landed property, which is transmitted to surviving relatives by the 
pilent operation of the law, but they have also operated on public opinion, so as to influ- 
ence the testamentary disposition of it by the proprietors, without which last effect the 
purpose of the Legislature might have been readily defeated. The cases are now very 
rare, in which a parent makes, by his will, a much more unequal distribution of his pro- 
perty among his children than the law itself" would make. It is thus that laws, them- 
selves the creatures of public opinion, often powerfully react on it. 

The effects of this change in the distribution of property are very visible. There is 
no longer a class of persons possessed of large inherited estates, who, in a luxurious and 
ostentatious style of living, greatly exceed the rest of the community ; a much larger 
number of those who are wealthy, have acquired their estates by their own talents or 
enterprise ; and most of these last are commonly content with reaching the average of 
that more moderate standard of expense which public opinion requires, rather than the 
higher scale which it tolerates.* 

Thus, there were formerly many in Virginia who drove a coach and six, and ixovr 

* A large portion of the matter on this page was appropriated by Lord Brougham, 
in his Miscellanies, without any acknowledgment whatsoever. 



MISCELLANIES. 143 

such an equipage is never seen. There were, probably, twice or three times as many 
four-horse carriages before the revolution, as there are at present ; but the number of 
two-horse carriages may now be ten, or even twenty times as great, as at the former 
period. A few families, too, could boast of more plate than can now be met with ; but 
the whole quantity in the country has now increased twenty, if not fifty fold. 

Some nice but querulous observers, have thought that they perceived a correspondent 
change in the manners and intellectual cultivation of the two periods ; and, while they 
admit that the mass of the people may be less gross, and more intelligent than the back- 
woodsman, the tobacco-roller,* or the rustic population generally under the regal govern- 
ment, yet they insist that we have now no such class as that which formerly constituted 
the Virginia gentleman of chivalrous honor and polished manners — at once high-minded, 
liberal, delicate, and munificent; and that as to mental cultivation, our best educated 
men of the present day cannot compare with the Lees, the Randolphs, the Jeffersons, 
Pendletons, and Wythes, of that period. 

This comparison, however, cannot easily be made with fairness; for there are few 
who have lived long enough to compare the two periods, and those few are liable to be 
biased on one side or the other, according to their early predilections and peculiar 
tastes. But apart from these individual influences, there is a general one to which we 
are all exposed. Time throws a mellow light over our recollections of the past, by 
which their beauties acquire a more touching softness, and their harsher parts are thrown 
into shade. Who that consults his reason can believe, if those scenes of his early days, 
to which he most fondly looks back, were again placed before him, that he would again 
see them such as memory depicts them? His more discriminating eye, and his less 
excitable sensibility, would now see faults which then escaped his inexperience, and he 
would look tranquilly, if not with indifference, on what had once produced an intoxica- 
tion of delight. Yet such is the comparison which every one must make between the 
men and things of his early and his later life ; and the traditionary accounts of a yet 
earlier period are liable to the same objection, for they all originate with those who de- 
scribe what they remember, rather than what they actually observed. We must, there- 
fore, make a liberal allowance for this common illusion, when we are told of the superior 
virtues and accomplishments of our ancestors. 

The intellectual comparison may be more satisfactorily made. While it is admitted 
that Virginia could, at the breaking out of the Revolution, boast of men that could hold 
a respectable rank in any society ; yet, after making allowance for the spirit-stirring 
occasion, which then called forth all their talents and faculties, there seems to be no 
reason to suppose that there is any inferiority in the present generation. It must be re- 
collected, that by the more general diffusion of the benefits of education, and the con- 
tinued advancement of mental culture, we have a higher standard of excellence in the 
present day than formerly, and in the progressive improvement which our country has 
experienced in this particular, the intellectual efforts which in one generation confer dis- 
tinction, would in that which succeeds it scarcely attract notice. It may be safely said, 
that a well-written newspaper essay would then have conferred celebrity on its author, 
and a pamphlet would then have been regarded as great an achievement in letters as an 
octavo volume at present. Nor does there pass any session of the legislature, without 
calling forth reports and speeches, which exhibit a degree of ability and political infor- 
mation, that would, forty years ago, have made the author's name reverberate from one 
end of British America to the other. The supposed effect of this change in the distri- 
bution of property, in deteriorating manners, and lowering the standard of intellectual 
merit, may then well be called in question. 

Another law, materially affecting the polity of the state, and the condition of so- 
ciety, owes its origin in part to Mr. Jefferson. This was the act to abolish the church 
establishment, and to put all religious sects on a footing. The means of effecting this 
change were very simple. They were merely to declare that no man should be com- 
pelled to support any preacher, but should be free to choose his sect, and to regulate his 
contribution for the support of that sect at pleasure. 

From the first settlement of Virginia, the Church of England had been established 

* The tobacco was formerly not transported in wagons, as at present, but by a much 
simpler process. The hogshead, in which it was packed, had a wooden pin driven into 
each head, to which were adjusted a pair of rude shafts, and thus, in the way of a gar- 
den roller it was drawn to market by horses. Those who followed this busines of to- 
bacco-rolling, formed a class by themselves — hardy, reckless, proverbially rude, and 
often indulging in coarse humor at the expense of the traveller who chanced to be well- 
dressed, or riding in a carriage. 



144 MISCELLANIES. 

in the colony. The inhabited parts were laid off into parishes, in each of which was a 
minister, who had a fixed salary in tobacco, together with a glebe and a parsonage 
house. There was a general assessment on all the inhabitants, to meet the expenses. 
Mr. Jefferson thus explains the success of rival sects : — 

" In process of time, however, other sectarisms were introduced, chiefly of the Pres- 
byterian family ; and the established clergy, secure for life in their glebes and salaries, 
adding to these generally the emoluments of a classical school, found employment 
enough in their farms and school rooms for the rest of the week, and devoted Sunday 
only for the edification of their flock, by service and a sermon, at their parish church. 
Their other pastoral functions were little attended to. Against this inactivity, the zeal 
and industry of sectarian preachers had an open and undisputed field ; and by the time 
of the Revolution, a majority* of the inhabitants had become dissenters from the estab- 
lished church, but were still obliged to pay contributions to support the pastors of the 
minority. This unrighteous compulsion, to maintain teachers of what they deemed 
religious errors, was grievously felt during the regal government and without a hope of 
relief." 

The successive steps by which an institution, which was deeply rooted in the affec- 
tions of many of the principal citizens, was deprived of its power and property, without 
disturbing the public tranquillity, may be not unworthy of notice. 

In the bill of rigiits which was drawn by George Mason, June 12, 1776, the principle 
of religious freedom is distinctly asserted in the last article, which declares, " that reli- 
gion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of di.scharging it, can 
only be directed by reason and conviction, not by force or violence ; and, therefore, all 
men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of con- 
science." But the constitution itself, passed June 29th, is silent on the subject of reli- 
gion, except that it renders " all ministers of the Gospel". incapable of being members of 
either House of Assembly, or of the Executive Council. 

At the first session of the legislature, in the same year, under the new constitution, 
numerous petitions were received for abolishing the general assessment for the estab- 
lished church ; and at this session, Mr. Jefferson drafted and supported a law for the 
relief of the dissenters, which, he says, brought on the severest contests in which he 
was ever engaged. Here, too, he encountered the formidable opposition of Mr. Pendle- 
ton and Mr. R. C. Nicholas, both zealous churchmen. The bill finally passed, but 
modified by its opponents. It declared all acts of Parliament, which proscribe or punish 
the maintenance of any opinions in matters of religion, the forbearing to repair to 
church, or the exercising any mode of worship whatsoever, to be of no validity within 
the commonwealth ; it exempts dissenters from all contributions for the support of the 
established church ; and, as this exemption might in some places make the support of 
the clergy too burdensome on the members of the church, it suspends, until the end of 
the succeeding session, all acts which provide salaries for the clergy, (except as to ar- 
rears then due,) and leaves them to voluntary contributions. But, at the same time, it 
reserves to the established church its glebe lands and other property, and it defers " to 
the discussion and final determination of a future Assembly," the question, whether 
every one should not be subjected by law to a general assessment for the support of the 
pastor of his choice ; or, " every religious society should be Jeft to voluntary contribu- 
tions." The church party had previously succaeded so far as to obtain a declaration in 
committee, " that religious assemblies ought to be regulated, and that provision ought to 
be made for continuing the succession of the clergy, and superintending their conduct." 

In the following years, the question of providing for the ministers of religion by law, 
or leaving it to individual contributions, was renewed ; but the advocates of the latter 
plan were only able to obtain, at each session, a suspension of those laws which pro- 
vided salaries for the clergy — the natural progress in favor of liberal sentiments being 
counterbalanced by the fact, that some of the dissenting sects, with the exception of 
the Baptists, satisfied with having been relieved from a tax which they felt to be both 
unjust and degrading, had no objection to a general assessment ; and, on this question, 
voted with the friends of the church. But the advocates of religious freedom finally 
prevailed, and after five suspending acts, the laws for the support of the clergy were, at 
the second session of 1779, unconditionally repealed. And although Mr. Jefferson was 
not then a member of the legislature, it is probable that his influence, as governor of 
the commonwealth, was sufficiently exerted towards its repeal. But to protect the 
rights of conscience, it was not deemed enough to remove past injustice, it was thought 
also prudent to prevent its recurrence. Among the bills, therefore, reported by the re- 

* This probably greatly overrates their number. 



MISCELLANIES. 



145 



visers, was the celebrated act of religious freedom, drawn by Mr. Jefferson ; which not 
merely reasserts the principles of religious liberty contained in the bill of rights, but aims 
to give them permanence, by an argument equally clear, simple, and conclusive. 

This bill, with many others, was not acted upon by the legislature for several years ; 
but in the mean time, the friends of Tthe Episcopal church prepared to make one more 
effort to recover a portion of its ancient privileges, by a general assessment. Their first 
object was to get an act of incorporation for the church, to enable it the better to retain 
and defend the large property it held, as Well as to facilitate further acquisitions. A re- 
solution having passed by a large majority, in favor of incorporating " all societies of 
the Christian religion" which desired it, leave was immediately given to bring in a bill 
" to incorporate the Protestant Episcopal Church," by which the minister and vestry 
in each parish were made a body ccrrporate, for holding and acquiring property, and re- 
gulating the concerns of the church, and vchich finally passed into a law. The plan of 
a general assessment met with more difficulty. The petitions which had been got up 
among the people gave it the show of popularity, and it received the powerful aid of 
Patrick Henry's eloquence. Thus supported, it seemed likely to obtain a majority, when 
those who were opposed to the measure on principle, for the purpose of gaining time, 
proposed to refer the matter to the people before the legislature acted upon it, and they 
succeeded in postponing it. George Mason, George Nicholas, and others of this party, 
then proposed to Mr. Madison to prepare a remonstrance to the next legislature against 
the assessment, to be circulated through the state for signatures. This was done, and 
the paper which he prepared exhibited the same candid, dispassionate, and forcible rea- 
soning, which had ever characterized the productions of his pen, convincing those who 
before doubted, so that there was a general disapprobation of the measure among all 
sects and parties ; and, at the next session, the table could scarcely hold the petitions 
and remonstrances against the proposed assessment. Such a manifestation of the pub- 
lic will was not to be resisted. The measure was abandoned, and Mr. Jefferson's bill, 
with some shght alterations, was then passed without difficulty. 

To conclude this history of religious establishments in Virginia : the law could not 
fairly claim the praise of impartiality, so long as a single church had the benefits of in- 
corporation ; and the injustice was the greater, if, as the other sects maintained, most 
of the large property it held it owed to the public bounty. In two years afterwards the 
act allowing religious incorporations was repealed, but with a saving to all religious so- 
cieties of the property they possessed, with the right of appointing trustees for its man- 
agement. In 1799, all these laws, as well as those made for the benefit of the dis. 
senters and the church, were repealed, as inconsistent with the bill of rights and the 
principles of religious freedom; and lastly, in 1801, the overseers of the poor in each 
county were authorized to sell all its glebe lands, as soon as they shall become vacant 
by the death or the removal of the incumbent for the time ; but reserving the rights of 
all private donations before 1777. By the execution of this act, the last vestige of legal 
privilege which this church had over other sects, was completely eradicated. 



LISTS OF VIRGINIANS WHO HAVE HELD HIGH PUBLIC STATIONS. 

Lid of Governors oj the State of Virginia. 

. . . James P. Preston. 
. Thomas M. Randolph. 
. James Pleasants. 
... John Tyler, (late Pres. of U. S.) 
• •Wm. B.Giles. 
..John Floyd. 
. . Littleton W. Tazewell ; resigned 

30th April, 1836. 
. . Wyndham Robertson, Lieut.-Gov- 

ernor — acting Governor. 
• . David Campbell. 
. . Thomas W. Gilmer ; resigned, 

March, 1841. 
. . John Rutherford, Lieut-Governor 

and acting Governor. 
• . John M. Gregory, Lieut.-Govemor 

and acting Governor. 
. . James McDowell. 

19 



June 29 


1776.. 


. . Patrick Henry. 


Dec. 


1816.. 


" 1 


1779.. 


. . Thomas Jefferson. 


" 


1819.. 


" 12 


1781.. 


. . Thomas Nelson. 


" 


1822.. 


3Srov. 30 


1781.. 


• • Benj. Harrison. 


" 


1825.. 


Dec. 


1784. . 


- . Patrick Henry. 


March 


1827.. 




1786.. 


• . Edmund Randolph. 


" 


1830.. 




1788.. 


. . Beverley Randolph. 


" 


1834.. 




1791.. 


. • Henry Lee. 








1794-. 


. . Robert Brooke. 


April, 


1836... 




1796. . 


. ■ James Wood. 








1799.. 


. • James Monroe. 


March 


1837.. 




1802.. 


.John Page. 


" 


1840.. 




180.5 -. 


. . Wm. H. Cabell. 








1808.. 


• • John Tyler. 


" 


1841.. 


Jan. 4 


1811.. 


. . Jame.? Monroe. 






Dec. 5, 


1811.. 


. Geo. W. Smith, burnt in the thea- 
tre, Dec. 26. 


" 


1842.. 


Jan. 3 


1812.. 


. . James Barbour. 


Jan. 


1843.. 


Dec. 


1814.. 


• • Wilson Carey Nicholas 







146 



MISCELLANIES. 



The following are lists of Virginians who have held high public stations under the general govern- 
ment. They are complete only to the year 1842. 

Presidents of the United States. — George Washington, elected 1789 ; died Dec. 14. 1799, aged 67. 
Thomas Jefferson, elected 1801 ; died July 4, 1826, aged 83. James Madison, elected ' ^09 ; died June 
28th, 1836, aged 84. James Jlonroe, elected 1817 ; died July 4, 1831, aged 72. William Henry Harrison, 
elected in 1841 ; died April 4, 1841, aged 68. John Tyler, 1841. 

Vice-Presidents of the United States. — Thomas Jefferson, elected 1797. John Tyler, elected 1841. 

Secretaries of State. — Thomas Jefferson, 1789. Edmund Randolph, 1794 ; died Sept. 12, 1813. John 
Marshall, 1800; died July 6, 1835, aged 79. James Madison, 1801. James Monroe, 1811. Henry Clay, 
(born in Va.,) 1825. Abel P. Upshur, 1843 ; died Feb. 28, 1844. John Forsyth, (born in Va.,) 1834 ; died 
Oct. 22, 1841, aged 61. 

Secretaries of TVar. — James Monroe, 1814. James Barbour, 1825 ; died June 8, 1842, aged 66. 

Secretaries of the JVaiiy.— Abel P. Upshur, 1841. Thomas W. Gilmer, 1843 ; died Feb. 28, 1844. John 
Y. Mason, 1844. 

Attorney—Oenerals.—'E.&nvmA Randolph, 1789. Charles Lee, 1795 ; died June 24, 1815, aged 58. 
William Wirt, (D. C.,) 1817 ; died Feb. 18, 1834, aged 61. Peter V. Daniel, appointed in 1833, but de 
clined. 

Chief- Justices of the Supreme Court. — John Marshall, 1801 to 1835. 

Associate do.— John Blair, 1789 to 1796 ; died Aue. 31, 1800, aged 68. Bushrod Washington, 1798 to 
1829 ; died June 14, 1832, aged 73. Thomas Todd, 1807 to 1826 ; died Feb. 1826. Philip P. Barbour, 1836 
to 1841 ; died Feb. 25, 1841, aged 60. Peter V. Daniel, 1841. 

Foreign Ministers. — James Monroe, Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain in 1803, 1806, and 1808. 
James Barbour, do. to do. in 1828. Andrew Stevenson, do. to do. in 1836. William Short, Charg6 de Af- 
faires to France in 1790. James Monroe, Minister Plenipotentiary to do. in 1794. Patrick Henry, Min. 
Plen. to do. in 1799 ; did not accept. Wni. C. Rives, Min. Plen. and Envoy Extraordinary to do. in 1829. 
Wm. Short, Minister Resident in Spain, 1794. James Monroe, Min. Plen. to Spain, 1804. John Forsyth, 
(born in Va.,) Min. Plen. 1819. Hugh Nelson, Min. Plen. and En. Ex. to Spain, 1823. Wra. Short, Min. 
Res. to Netherlands, 1792. John Graham, Min. Plen. to Brazil, 1819. Thomas L. L. Brent, ChargC de 
Affaires to do., 1825. Henry Clay, (born in Va.,) to Prussia, 1823. John Randolph, about 1831, Min. Plen. 
to Russia. Richard C. Anderson, Min. Plen. to Colombia, 1823. Wm. Boulware, Charg6 de Affaires 
Two Sicilies, 1841. Wm. Brent, Charge d' Affaires to Buenos Ayres, 1844. Henry A. Wise, Minister to 
Brazil in 1844. Wm. M. Blackford, Charg6 d' Affaires to New Grenada, 1842. Wm. Crump, Charg6 
d' Affaires to Chili, 1844. 

U. S. Senators, from the adoption of the Constitution. — Wm. S. Archer, 1842 to 1847. James Barbour, 
1815 to 1825. Richard Brent, 1809 to 1815. John W. Eppes, 1817 to 1819 ; died Sept. 1830, aged 50. Wm. 
B. Giles, 1804 to 1816 ; died Dec. 8, 1830. William Grayson, 1789 to 1790 ; died March 12, 1790. Richard 
H. Lee, 1789 to 1792 ; died 19th June, 1794, aged 62. Benjamin Watkins Leigh, 1834 to 1838. A. T. 
Mason, 1815 to 1817 ; died 6th Feb. 1819, aged 33. James Monroe, 1790 to 1794. Andrew Moore, 1804 to 
1809. Wilson C. Nicholas, 1799 to 1804 ; died 10th Oct. 1820. James Pleasants, 1819 to 1822. John Ran- 
dolph, 1825 to 1827 ; died 24th May, 1833, aged 60. William C. Rives, 1832 to 1834, 1836 to 1839, 1842 to 
1845. John Taylor, about 1803. Henry Tazewell, 1794 to 1799. Littleton W. Tazewell, 1824 to 1833. 
John Tyler, 1827 to 1836. Abraham B. Venable, 1803 to 1804 ; perished in the Richmond Theatre, 26th 
Bee. 1811. John Walker, 1790. 

Members of the Old Congress from 1774 to 1788, inclusive. — ^Thomas Adams, 1778 to 1780. John Banis- 
ter, 1778 to 1779. Richard Bland, 1774 to 1776 ; died in 1778. Theodorick Bland, 1780 to 1783 ; died in 
1790, aged 48. Carter Braxton, 1776; died 1797, aged 61. Edward Carrington, 1785 to 1786; died 1810, 
aged 61. John Fitzhugh, 1779 to 1780 ; died in 1809, aged 83. Wm. Grayson, 1784 to 1787. Cyrus Grif- 
fin, 1778 to 1781, 1787 to 1788 ; died in 1810, aged 62. Samuel Hardy, 1783 to 1785. John Harvie, 1778 to 
1779. Benjamin Harrison, 1774 to 1778 ; died in 1791. James Henrv, 1780 to 1781 ; died in 1805. Pat- 
rick Henry, 1774 to 1776. Thomas Jefferson, 1775 to 1777, 1783 to 1785. Joseph Jones, 1777 to 1778, 1780 
to 1783. Arthur Lee, 1781 to 1784; died 14th Dec. 1782, aged 42. Francis L. Lee, 1775 to 1780; died 
1797, aged 63. Henry Lee, 1785 to 1788 ; died in 1818, aged 62. Richard H. Lee, 1774 to 1780, 1784 to 
1787 ; died in 1794, aged 62. James Madison, jr., 1780 to 1783, 1786 to 1788 ; died in 1836. James Mercer, 
1779 to 1780. James Monroe, 1783 to 1786 ; died Julv 4, 1831. Thomas Nelson, 1775 to 1777, 1779 to 
1780 ; died Jan. 4. 1789.aged 50. Mann Page, 1777. Edmund Pendleton, 1774 to 1775 ; died in 1833, aged 
82. Edmund Randolph, 1779 to 1782 ; died in 1813. Peyton Randolph, 1774 to 1775 ; died 22d Oct. 1775, 
aged 52. Meriwether Smith, 1778 to 1782. George Washington, 1774 to 1775. George Wythe, 1775 to 
1777 ; died 6th June, 1S06, aged 80. 

Members of the Convention from Va. which formed the Constitution of the United States. — John Blair, 
James Madison, Jr., George Mason, James M'Clurg, Edmund Randolph, George Washington, and George 
Wythe. Messrs. Mason, M'Clurg, Randolph, and Wythe, did not sign the constitution. 



List of members from Virginia, of the U. S. House of Representatives, from the adoption of the Federal 
Constitution to the 4th of March, 1845. 



Alexander, Mark 


1819-33 


Allen, .Tohn J. 


1833-35 


Allen, Robert 


1827-33 


Archer, Wm. S. 


J 1820-33 
) 1833-35 


Armstrong, Wm. 


182.5-33 


Atkinson, A. 


1843-45 


Austin, Archibald 


1817-19 


Baker, John 


1811-13 


Ball, Wm. L. 


1817-24 


Banks, Linn 


1837-43 


Barbour, John S. 


1823-33 


Barbour, Philip P. 


( 1814-25 
I 1827-30 


Barton, Richard W 


1841-43 




C 1805-13 


Bassett, Bnrwdl 


< 1815-19 




( 1821-31 



Bayley, T. H. 
Bayley, Thomas M. 
Beale, J. M. H. 
Beirne, Andrew 
Blsnd, Theodore 
Botts, John M. 
Bouldin, Thomas T. 
Bouldin, J. W. 
Breckenridge, James 

Brent, Richard 

Browne, John 
Burwell, Wm. A. 
Cabell, Samuel J. 
Caperton, Hugh 
Cary, George B. 
Chapman, A. A. 
Chinn, Joseph W. 



1843 

1813-15 

1833-37 

18.17-41 

1789-90 

1839-43 

1829-33 

1833-39 

1809-17 

1795-99 

1801-03 

1789-92 

1806-21 

1795-03 

1813-15 

1841-43 

1843 

1831-35 



Chilton, Samuel 


1843 


Claiborne, John 


1805-08 


Claiborne, Nathaniel H. 


1825-37 


Claiborne, Thomas 


J 1793-99 
I 1801-05 


Clark, Christopher 


1804-06 


Clay, Matthew 


1797-13 


Clopton, John 


5 1795-99 
\ 1801-16 


Coke, Richard 


1829-33 


Coles, Isaac 


< 1789-91 
i 1793-97 


Coles, Walter 


1835-45 


Colston, Edward 


1817-19 


Craig, Robert B. 


1829-33 


Craig, Robert 


1835-41 


Crump, John 


182&-27 


Davenport. Thomas 


1835-35 



MISCELLANIES. 



147 



Dawson, John 


1797-14 


Lee, Henry 


1799-01 


Randolph, Thomas M. 


1803-07 


Doddridge, Philip 


1829-32 


Lee, Richard Bland 


1789-95 


Rives, Francis E. 


1837-41 




5 1830-31 


Leffler, Isaac 


1827-29 


Rives, William C. 


1823-29 


Draper, Joseph 


) 1833-33 


Leftwich, Jabez 


1821-25 


Roane, John 


J 1827-31 


Dromgoole, Geo. C. 


j 1835- ; J Lewis, Joseph 


1803-17 


1 183.5-37 


\ 1843-451 Lewis, Wm. J. 


1817-19 


Roane, John J. 


1831-33 


Eggleston, John 


1798-01 Love, John 


1807-11 


Roane, John T. 


1809-15 




< 1803-11! Lucas, Edward 


1833-37 


Roane, Wm. H. 


1815-17 


Eppes, John W. 


S'i'J^I^'^'^^^'Wm.F. 


5 1839-41 


Robertson, John 


1833-39 


Estill, Benjamin 


( 1843-45 


Rutherford, Robert 


1793-97 


Evans, Thomas 


1797-Oi.Loyall, George 


1831-37 


Samuel, Green B. 


1839-41 


Floyd, John 


1817-29 Machir, James 


1797-99 


ShelFey, Daniel 


1809-17 


Fulton, John H. 


1833-35 


Madison, James 


1789-97 


Smith, Arthur 


1821-25 


Garland, David S. 


1809-11 


Mallory, Francis 


< 1837-39 


Smith, Ballard 


1815-21 


Garland, James 


1835-41 


) 1841-43 


Smith, John 


1801-15 


Garnett, James M. 


1805-09 


Marshall, John 


1799-00 


Smith, Wm. 


1821-27 


Garnetv Robert S. 


1817-27 


Mason, John Y. 


1831-37 


Smyth, Alexander 


( 1817-25 


Gholson, Thomas 


1808-16 


Mason, James M. 


1837-39 


1 1827-30 


Gholson, James H. 


1833-35 


Maxwell, Lewis 


1827-33 


Steenrod, Lewis J. 


1839-45 


Giles, Wra. B. 


« 1790-98 
I 1801-02 


McCarty, VV^m. M 
McComas, Wm. 


1839-41 
1833-37 


Stephenson, James 


( 1803-05 
?1809-U 


Gilmer, Thomas W 


1841-43 


M'Coy, Wm. 


1811-33 




(1822-25 


Goggin, Wm. L. 


1839 


M'Kinley, Wm. 


1810-11 


Steuart, Archibald 


1837-39 


Goode, Samuel 


1799-01 


Mercer, Chas. Fenton 


1817-39 


Stuart, Alex. H. H. 


1841-43 


Goode, W. O. 


1841-43 


Moore, Andrew 


J 1789-97 


Stevenson, Andrew 


1821-33 


Goodwin, Peterson 


1803-18 


\ 1803-04 


Stratton, John 


1801-03 


Gordon, Wm. F. 


1829-35 


Moore, Thomas L. 


1820-23 


Strother, George F. 


1817-20 


Gray, Edwin 


1799-13 Moore, S. McD. 


1833-35 


Summers, George W. 


1841-45 


Gray, John C. 


1820-211 Morgan, Daniel 


1797-99 


Swearingin, Thomas V. 


1819-22 


Griffin, Samuel 


1789-95| Morgan, Wm.S. 


1835-39 


Swoope, Jacob 


1809-11 


Griffin, Thomas 


1803-05 Morrow, John 


1805-09 




f 1801-03 


Hancock, George 
Harrison, Carter B. 


1793-97 
1793-99 


Nelson, Hugh 
Nelson, Thomas M. 


1811-23 
1816-19 


Taliaferro, John 


1811-13 
1 1824-31 


Harris, Wm. A. 


1841-43 


Nevel, Joseph 


1793-95 




L 1835-43 


Hawes, Aylett ^ 


-^1811-17 


New, Anthony 


1793-05 


Tate, Magnus 


1815-17 


Hays, Samuel L. 
Heath, John 


1841-43 
1793-97 


New^ton, Thomas 


5 1801-29 
I 1831-33 


Taylor, Robert 
Taylor, Wm. P. 


1825-27 
1833-35 


Hill, John T. 


1839-41 


Newton, W. 


1843-45 


Taylor, Wm. 


1843 


Holleman, Joel 


1839-41 


Nicholas, Wilson Carey 


1807-09 


Tazewell, Littleton W. 


1800-01 


Holmes, David 


1797-09 


Nicholas, John 


1793-01 


Thompson, Philip R. 


1801-07 


Hopkins, G. W. " 


1835 


Page, John 


1789-97 


Trezvant, James 


1825-31 


Hubard, Edm. W. 


1841 


Page, Robert 


1799-01 


Trigg, Abram 


1797-09 


Hungerford, John P. 


1813-17 


Parker, Josiah 


1789-01 


Trigg, John 


1797-04 


Hunter, R. M. T. 


1837-43 


Parker, Severn E. 


1819-21 


Tucker, Henry St. George 


1815-19 


Jackson, Edward B. 


1820-23 


Patton, John M. 


1830^37 


Tyler, John (late President 




( 1795-97 


Pennybacker, I. S. 


1837-39 


of U. S.) 


1816-21 


Jackson, John George 


{ 1799-10 


Pegram, John 


1818-10 


Venable, A. B. 


1791-99 




( 1813-17 


Pindall, James 


1817-20 


Walker, Francis 


1793-95 


Johnson, James 


1813-20 


Pleasants, James 


1811-19 


White, Alexander 


1789-93 


Johnson, Joseph 


< 1823-27 


Powell, Alfred H. 


1825-27 


White, Francis, 


1813-15 


I 18a5-41 


Powell, Cuthbert 


1841-43 


Williams, Jared 


1819-25 


Johnson, Chas. C. 


1831-32 


Powell, Levin 


1799-01 


Wilson, Alexander 


1804-09 


Jones, James 


1819-23 


Preston, Francis 


1793-97 


Wilson, Edgar C. 


1833-35 


Jones, John W 


1835-45 




f 1799-13 


Wilson, Thomas 


1811-13 


Jones, Walter 


( 1797-99 
\ 1803-11 


Randolph, John 


J 1815-17 
1 1819-25 


Wise, Henry A. 


1833-43 


Kerr, John 


1813-17 




(.1827-29 







List of persons who have lived 110 years and over. 

Place. When died. A»e. 

William M'Kim, Richmond, 1818 .... 130 

John de la Somet, 1766 .... 130 

Wonder Booker, (a negro,) .. Prince Edward co 1819 .... 126 

Eleanor Spicer, Accomac co 1773 .... 121 

Charles Lauge, Campbell co 1821 121 

Charles Roberts, BuUskin, 1796 .... 116 

Philip CruU, Fairfax co 1813 .... 115 

Wm. Taylor, Pittsylvania co 1794 114 

Frank, (a negro,) Woodstock, 1820 .... 114 

Alex. Berkley, Charlotte co. 1825 114 

Priscilla Carmichael, Surry co 1818 .... 113 

Sarah Carter, Petersburg, 1825 112 

Mrs. A. Berkley, Charlotte, 1826 .... Ill 

Wm.Wootten, 1773 .... Ill 

Anegro, Richmond 1818 136 

Mrs. Harrison, Brunswick co 1805 .... 110 

John Cuffee, (a slave,) Norfolk, 1836 .... 120 

John, (a negro,) Washington, D. C 1838 115 

Gilbert (a negro,) Augusta co 1844 .... 112 



148 MISCELLANIES. 



OBITUARY. 

Below are obituary notices, drawn from the Obituary in the American Almanac, 
of pubHc individuals, natives and residents of Virginia and the District of Columbia, 
who have died within the last ten OT twelve years. The perusal will create retrospec- 
tions, too often lost amid the engrossing scenes of the present, and the demands of the 
future. 

1832 

Oct. 13. — At Norfolk, John E. Holt, nearly twenty years mayor of that borongh. 

Nov. 19. — At Washington city, aged 60, Philip Doddridge, a member of Congress, a distinguished 
lawyer, and one of the ablest men in the body of which he was a member. 

1833. 

Jan. 29.— At Warrenton, N. C, in his 64th year, John Hall, recently judge of the Supreme Court of 
N. Carolina. He was born in Staunton, Va., and when a young man removed to N. C. His life was 
pure, and his integrity unspotted. 

May 24. — At Philadelphia, aged GO, John Rmidolph of Roanoke. 

Nov. 17. — At Columbus, S. C., aged about 90, Colonel Thomas Taylor. He was born in AmeUa CO., 
Va., in 1743. He has been styled " the patriarch of the states-right party of South Carolina." 

Dec. 21. — At Twiford, in Westmoreland co., Va., in his 74th year, John P. Hungerford. He was an 
officer in the revolutionary war, and afterwards a member of Congress. 

1834. 

Feb. 11. — In the Capitol at Washington, Thomas Tyler Bouldin, M. C. Before he was elected a mem- 
ber of Congress, he had been a lawyer of high rank, an able and upright judge ; and he was highly 
respected for his integrity. 

Feb. 18. — At Washington city, in his 62d year, the Hon. William Wirt, the author of the Life of 
Patrick Henry, and of tiie British Spy. 

April 13. — At Norfolk, Gen. Robert B. Taylor, an eminent lawyer, and a judge of the General or 
District Court of Va. ; a man greatly respected, and much lamented. 

Oct. — At Petersburg, of cholera, aged about 48, Oen. William H. Brodnax, of Dinwiddle Co., Va., 
distinguished as a lawyer and a philanthropist, and for several years a very prominent member of the 
House of Delegates. He signalized himself in the debates on the abolition of slavery in 1831, advocating 
a gradual and cautious abolition ; and also, in opposition to the doctrines of President Jackson's Procla- 
mation of Dec, 1832. 

Near Monongahela, Va., aged 97, Col. John Evans ; a commander of a regiment of mdlitia in the 
revolution, and a member of the convention that formed the first constitution. 

1835. 

March 2. — In Bath co.,Va., aged about 77, Gen. Samuel Blackburn, a soldier of the revolution, an 
eminent lawyer, and for many years a conspicuous member of the legi'^latiire. At his death he libera- 
ted his slaves, forty-si.\ in number, charging his estate with the expense of transporting them to Liberia. 

April 7. — At Philadelphia, in his 73d year, James Brown, who was born in Virginia in Oct. 1766. In 
1812, he was elected a member of the U. S. Senate from Louisiana, and in 1823 appointed minister to 
France. He was distinguished as a lawyer and a statesman. 

April 2.5. — Aged about 40, Jonathan P. Ciishina-, President of Hampden-Sidney College, which office 
he had held for fourteen years. He was born in New Hampshire. The institution over which he pre- 
sided was greatly indebted to his well-directed zeal, talents, and influence, and he was highly esteemed 
for his virtues. By his will he emancipated his slaves, si.\ty in number, providing amply for their 
removal to Liberia ; and also gave about $40,000 to establish schools in Albemarle, and the adjoining 
county 

May 13. — In Brunswick county, in his 84th year. Rev. Edward Dromgoole, father of the Hon. George 
C. Dromgoole ; a minister of the gospel sixty-three years, and a magisti'ate and member of the county 
court forty-five years. 

July 1. — .\t Richmond, in his 77th year, Maj. James Gibbon, collector of customs of the port of Rich- 
mond, and a gallant officer of the revolutionary army, known as " the hero of Stony-Point." Col. Gib- 
bon, on the 16th of July, 1779, then a lieutenant, led one of the two " forlorn hopes," of twenty men, 
when Gen. Wayne carried the fortress of Stony-Point by storm. Of his twenty men, seventeen were 
killed or \\-ounded. He was greatly respected and esteemed, and his remains were interred with the 
highest honors. 

July 6.— At Philadelphia, in his SOth year, John Marshall, Chief- Justice of the United States. 

June 28. — .'it B.iltimore, Md., aged about 50, of a fractured skull, from the tail of a chimney, Thomas 
Marshall, of Fauquier Co., the eldest son of Chief- Justice INIarshall, being on a journey to attend the 
death-bed of his father. He graduated in Princeton in 1803 ; was distinguished as a scholar, a law- 
yer, and a member of the legislature ; and was highly esteemed for his talents, his many virtues, and his 
exemplary and useful life. 

May 26.— At Columbia, S. C, aged 70, Gen. Francis Preston, of Wasliington Co., Va., a member of 
Congress from 1793 to 1797, and father of the Hon. William C. Preston. 

Nov. — At Lexington, Va., George Baxter, a distinguished lawyer. 

Nov. — In Caroline co., aged about 48, John Dickenson, an eminent law^'er. 

Oct. 7. — In Alabama, Charles Tait, in his 68th year. He was born in Louisa coimty, but removed at an 
early age to Georgia, where he was, for several years, a judge of the Superior Court, and a senator in 
Congress, from 1809 to 1819. 

Dec. 3. — At Washington c\tv, aged 47, Richard Wallack, a distinguished lawyer. 

1836. 

March 22. — At Washington, D. C, in his 82d year. Gen. Mountjoy Baily, an officer of the revolution. 

Jan. 28. — At Abingdon, John H. Falton, a respected member of tlie 23d Congress. 

April 29. — In Logan co., Ohio, Gen. Simon Kenton, aged 82, a native of Virginia. He was a compan- 
ion of Col. Boone, in cvploi'lng the west, and in coinmencing its settlement, and he endured many hard- 
ships. 

INIarch 25. — At Belmont, Loudon co., Va., aged 76, Ludwcll Lee, second son of Richard Henry Lee, a 
gentleman highly respected. 



MISCELLANIES. 149 

Nov. 9. — At his residence, in Goochland co., Va., aged 67, James Pleasants, M. C. from 1811 to 1819; 
U. S. Senator from 1819 to 1822 : governor of Virginia from 1822 to 1825, and a member of the conven- 
tion for 1829-30, for amending the state constitution. He was twice appointed to the bench, but declined, 
from a distrust of his own qualifications. He was a man of rare modesty, greatly respected and 
esteemed for public and private virtues 

Oct. 10. — In Albemarle co., Va., aged upwards of 70, Mrs. Martha Randolph, widow of Gov. Thomas 
M. Randolph, and the last surviving daughter of Thomas Jefferson ; a lady distinguished for her talenfs 
and virtues. 

1837. 

Jan. 8. — At his seat in Culpeper co., aged 63, Dabney Carr, a judge of the Virginia Court of Ap- 
peals ; a man much respected and esteemed for his amiable character, his talents, learning, industry, 
solidity of mind, and uncommonly fine colloquial powers. 

Aug. 16.— At the Sweet Springs, John Floyd, M. C. from 1817 to 1819, and governor of Virginia from 
1829 to 1834. 

April 12. — In Beaver co., Penn., Gen. Abner Lacock. in his 67th year. He was bom in Virginia, re- 
moved early in life to Pennsylvania, and was, from 1813 to 1819, a member of the U. S. Senate . 

June 28, 1836.-At Montpelier, Orange co. Va. in his 86th year, James Madison, the 4th President of the 
United States. 

March 18, 1836.— In .Albemarle, Va, Hugh JVelson, formerly speaker of the House of Delegates, i judge 
of the General Court, a member of Congress from 1811 to 1823, and afterwards U. S. Minister to Spain. 

\June 3. — In Virginia, in his 53d year, jlllen Taylor, judge of the General Court, 17th Circuit. 

Jan. 7. — At Needham, in his 70th year, Creed Taylor, late chancellor of the Richmond and Lynch 
burg District. 

Nov. 5. — Aged 57, David Briggs, an eminent attorney, formerly mayor of Fredericksburg, and coun- 
sellor of state. 

Nov. 20. — At his father's residence, in Bedford co., John Thompson Brown, of Petersburg, Va., aged 
36. He was for several years a very distinguished member of the legislature, was rising rapidly at the 
bar, and was regarded as one of the most eminent men of his age in the state. 

Oct. 7. — At Yorktown, aged 64, Major Thomas Griffin, second in command at the battle of Hampton, 
and M. C. in 1803-5. 

Nov. 30, 1836. — At Bellegrove, Major Isaac Hite, an officer in the revolutionary war. 

Dec. 15. — At Gosport, in his 85th year, Capt. John Cox, who, early in the revolution, was commissioned 
as a captain in the naval service of Virginia, and was one of the most distinguished and efficient patriots 
in the contest. 

Dec. 2. — In Goochland co., aged 62, Dr. Andrew Kean, one of the most eminent physicians of Vir- 
ginia. 

Sept. 8. — In Albemarle co., aged 85, Mrs. Lucy Marks, the mother of Meriwether Lewis, who, with 
William Clarke, e.\plored the Rocky Mountains ; a woman of uncommon energy and strength of mind. 

Sept. 19. — At Clinton, Fauquier co., aged 83, Capt. IVilliam Payne, who commanded the Falmouth 
Blues for several years in the early part of the revolution ; and a company of volunteers at the siege 
of Yorktown. 

July 5K. — In Kanawha co., aged 71, Philip R. Thompson, M. C. from Virginia in 1801-7. 

1838. 

March 2S. — In Missouri, Gen. William H. Ashley, first lieutenant-governor of that state, and a native 
of Powhatan co., Va. 

May 7. — At Washington, D. C, Abraham Bradley, for many years assistant postmaster-general. 

Feb. 2. — In Stafford co., John Coulter, formerly a judge of the Circuit Court and Court of Appeals. 

Jan. 9. — At Staunton, aged 36, John J. Craig, a man much respected ; distinguished for his talents as 
a lawyer, and a member of the legislature. 

Feb. 6. — At Charlotte, C. H., aged 40, JVVzs/t Le Grand, for several years a mem.ber of the state 
council. 

Jan. 6. — At Richmond, Va., suddenly, aged about 35, Edward V. Sparhawh, editor of the Petersburg 
Intelligencer ; a gentleman of fine talents, e.xtensive acquirements, and a highly respectable and useful 
member of society. 

Dec. — At Richmond, aged 60, John Brockenbrongh, judge of the Court of Appeals. 

Sept. 1. — At St. Louis, in his 69th year, TViiliam Clarke, a native of Virginia, companion of Meri- 
wether Lewis in the expedition across the Rocky Mountains, and governor of Missouri Territory, from 
1813 to 1820. 

Sept. 15. — At Huntsville, Ala., Col. William Lindsay, a native of Va., and a highly respectable man 
and officer of the U. S. army. 

Dec. 21. — At Alexandria, D. C, Thompson F. Mason, judge of the Criminal Court of the District of 
Columbia. 

1839. 

April 8.— At Wheeling, Alexander Caldwell, judge of the U. S. Court in the Western District of Va. 

Nov. 3. — In Hanover co., in his 72d year, suddenly, while feeling the pulse of a dying patient. Dr. 
Carter Berkeley, a lineal descendant of Sir William Berkeley, a graduate of the Edinburgh Medical 
School, a distinguished physician, and much respected for his upright, benevolent, and religious 
character. 

Nov. 20. — At Lynchburg, in his 69th year, William Daniel, a conspicuous member of the legislature 
in 1798-99 ; and, for the last twenty-three years, a judge of the General and Circuit Courts ; a man 
much respected for his talents and legal knowledge. 

Nov. — At New Orleans, Capt. Gilbert T. Francis, a native of Va. His life was romantic and eventful, 
and he passed through surprising adventures in foreign countries. Though of defective education, his 
great energy of character and extensive travels made him the most entertaining of companions. 

Oct. 2. — In Culpeper co., in his 88th year. Col. David Jameson, an active militia officer of the revolu- 
tion ; afterwards a member of the House of Delegates, a respected magistrate, and a member of the 
county court. 

1840. 

May 20. — At Richmond, aged about 75, Daniel Call, brother-in-law to Chief-Justice Marshall, an able 
and eminent lawyer, author of 6 vols, of law reports, known as " Call's Reports." 

Jan. — At Richmond, aged about 88, Chas. Shirley Carter, an eminent lawyer and advocate, attorney 
of the state in the Circuit Court of Henrico co. ; formerly a distinguished member of the legislature. 

Oct.— At the University of Virginia, aged about 48, Cha^. Bonnycastle, Prof, of Mathematics. He wa« 



150 MISCELLANIES. 

a native of England, and a son of John Bonnycastle, the author of a celebrated algebra. He was a man 
of profound and vigorous mind, and author of a valuable work upon Inductive Geometry. 

Nov. 14. — At the University of Va., (of a pistol-shot discharged by a disguised student,) aged 39, John 
A. G. Davis, Prof, of Law in the University. He was a man of a high order of intellect, of untiring in- 
dustry, of amiable and philanthropic character, and he was an exemplary member of the Episcopal 
church. He published, in 1838, a valuable law-book — " A Treatise on Criminal Law, and a Guide to 
Justices of the Peace." As a successful instructor, he could hardly be surpassed; and it is thought, 
sii.ce graduates of his law-school have taken their places at the bar, the profession in Virginia has 
breathed a more enlarged spirit, and displayed a wider and a higher tone. 

Dec. — At Nashville, Tenn., Felix Grundy, a native of Berkeley co., Va., and a distinguished member of 
the U. S. Senate from Tennessee. 

N ov. — In Va., aged about 63, Richard E. Parker, a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals. 

Jj n. 19. — At Morven, Loudon co., in his 75th year, Thomas Swan, an eminent lawyer, and formerly 
atto. ney of the U. S. for the Dist. of Columbia. " He attained the highest rank in his profession, uniting 
to tj e most extensive learning the most effective eloquence as a pleader. His influence over juries, aris- 
ing rem this cause, and partly from the universal confidence in the purity of his character, is believed to 
haidheen seldom, if ever, surpassed, in the instance of any other American advocate." 

1841. 

Feb. '95. — At Washington, D. C, aged about 60, Philip P. Sarbotir, of Orange co., an associate judge of 
the Sui'reme Court of the U. S. 

April 24. — In Va., aged 77, George Baxter, D.D., Prof, in the Union Theo. Sem. In Prince Edward co. ; 
formerly president of Wash. College, at Lexington, and one of the most eminent and respected Presbyte- 
rian clergymen in Virginia. 

Oct. 22. — At Washington, D. C, (of bilious fever,) aged 61, John Forsyth, of Georgia, a man of talents 
and eloquence, and secretary of state in Mr. Van Buren's administration. He was born in Fredericks- 
burg, Va., in 1781. 

April 4. — At Washington city, in his 69th year, William Henry Harrison, President of the U. States. 
He was born in Charles City co., Va., on the 9th of Feb. 1773. 

June 10. — At Washington city, in his 92d year, Richard Harrison, late auditor of the treasury, and a 
man highly respected. 

April 27. — At Washington city, aged about 80, Rev. Andrew T. McCornish, a respected clergyman, for 
23 years minister of the first Episcopal church formed in Washington. 

June. — At Washington city, Ge^rg-e Washington Montgomery, who was born in V-jlcicia, in Spain, of 
a distinguished Irish family, and a man of superior talents and education. He carne in early life to this 
country, and was long employed in the department of State. He was the author of Bernardo del Carpio, 
" an exquisite historical novel of the 8th century, and the translation of Irving's Conquest of Granada." 

Sept. 1. — Near Georgetown, D. C, in his 88th year, Joseph J^ourse, register of the U. S. Treasury from 
1789 to 1829, and one of the vice-presidents of the American Bible Society, and a man much respected. 
He was born in London in 1754 ; emigrated with his family to Virginia, and entered the revolutionary 
army in 1776, and served in different departments connected with it till the close of the war. 

1842. 

Feb. 24. — In Madison co., Hon. Linn Banks, from 1818 to 1838 speaker of the House of Delegates. 

June 8. — In Orange co., Hon. James Barbour, ex-governor of Virginia, aged 66. 

Aug. 13. — .John P. Emmett, Esq., Prof, of Chem. in the University of Va. He was the son of the late 
Thomas Addis Emmett, and a man of talents and learning. 

Jan. 5. — At Savannah, Ga., Col. Thomas Haynes, aged 55, who was born In Va. He was treasurer of 
Georgia, and commanded respect and great public influence. 

1843. 

Nov. 23. — In Fauquier co., Thomas Fitzhugh, aged 81. He was a highly respected citizen, and had been 
for many years presiding judge of the County Court. 

Dec. 14. — In Washington city, Chas. W. Goldsbnrough, chief of the bureau of provisions and clothing 
of the navy department, and author of a naval history of the U. S. He was one of the oldest and most 
respected inhabitants of the city. 

Nov. 30. — In Rappahannock co., Maj. John Roberts, aged 85. He served in the revolutionary army, 
and negotiated the exchange for the prisoners obtained by the convention at Saratoga in 1777. After- 
wards he was a member of the legislature for 13 successive years, and had great influence in its deliber- 
ations. 

Aug. 27. — At the White Sulphur Springs, Hon. Lewis Summers, of Kanawha, aged 65, for 24 years one 
of the judges of the General Court of Va. 

1844. 

Feb. 10. — At Fredericksburg, Carter Beverley, Esq., aged 72. 

Feb. 28. — By the accident on board the U. S. steamer Princeton, Thomas W. Gilmer, of Charlottesville, 
secretary of the navy. His various public trusts he discharged with great ability. He was respected in 
public, and beloved in private life. 

March 29. — At Norfolk, Com. E. Pendleton Kennedy, of the U. S. N., aged 65. At the time of his death, 
he was commander of the line-of-battle ship Pennsylvania. 

Feb. 28. — By the accident on board the steamer Princeton, Com. Beverley Kennon, chief of the bureau 
of construction, repairs, and equipment, in tho navy department. He had long been attached to the naval 
service, in which he had attained a distinguished reputation. 

Feb. 28. — By the accident on board the Princeton, Hon. A. P. Upshur, secretary of state, aged 54. He 
was born in Northampton co. in 1790. 



EXTRACTS FROM THE ANCIENT LAWS OF VIRGINIA. 

1662. — Every person who refuses to have his child baptized by a lawful minister, 
•shall be amerced 2000 lbs. of tobacco ; half to the parish, half to the informer. 

The whole liturgy of the Church of England shall be thoroughly read at church or 
chapel, every Sunday ; and the canons for divine service and sacraments duly 
observed. 

Church-wardens shall present at the county court, twice every year, in December 



MISCELLANIES. 151 

and April, such misdemeanors of swearing, drunkenness, fornication, &c., as by their 
own knowledge, or common fame, have been committed during their being church- 
wardens. 

To steal, or unlawfully to kill any hog that is not his own, upon sufficient proof, the 
offender shall pay to the owner 1000 lbs. of tobacco, and as much to the informer ; and 
in case of inability, shall serve two years, one to the owner, and one to the informer. 

The man and woman committing fornication, shall pay each 500 lbs. of tobacco, and to 
be bound to their good behavior. If either of them be a servant, the master shall pay 
the 500 lbs. of tobacco, and the servant shall serve half a year longer than his time. 
If the master shall refuse to pay, then the servant to be whipped. If a bastard be got 
and born, then the woman to serve her master two years longer than her time, or pay 
him 2000 lbs. of tobacco ; and the reputed father to give security to keep the child. 

No marriage shall be reputed valid in law but such as is made by the minister, ac- 
cording to the laws of England. And no minister shall marry any person without a 
license from the governor or his deputy, or thrice publication of bans, according to the 
rubrick in the common-prayer book. The minister that doth marry contrary to this 
act, shall be fined 10,000 lbs. of tobacco. 

All persons keeping tipling-houses without hcense, shall be fined 2000 lbs. of tobacco ; 
half to the county, and half to the informer. 

No master of any ship, vessel, &c., shall transport any person out of this colony 
without a pass, under the secretary's hand, upon the penalty of paying all such debts 
as any such person shall owe at his departure, and 1000 lbs. of tobacco to ths 
secretary. 

The court in every county shall cause to be set up near the court-house, a pillory, a 
pair of stocks, a whipping-post, and a ducking-stool, in such place as they shall think 
convenient : which not being set up within six months after the date of this act, the 
said court shall be fined 5000 lbs. of tobacco. 

In actions of slander occasioned by a man's wife, after judgment passed for damages, 
the woman shall be punished by ducking, and if the slander be such as the damages 
shall be adjudged at above 500 lbs. of tobacco, then the woman shall have ducking for 
every 500 lbs. of tobacco adjudged against her husband, if he refuse to pay the 
tobacco. 

Enacted that the Lord's Day be kept holy, and no journeys be made on that day, 
unless upon necessity. And all persons inhabiting in this country having no lawful ex- 
cuse, shall every Sunday resort to the parish church or chapel, and there abide orderly 
during the common prayer, preaching, and divine service, upon the penalty of being 
fined 50 lbs. of tobacco by the county court. 

This act shall not extend to Quakers, or other recusants, who totally absent them- 
selves, but they shall be liable to the penalty imposed by the stat. 23 Eliz., viz. .£20 
sterling for every month's absence, &c. ; and all Quakers assembling in unlawful con- 
venticles, shall be fined, every man so taken, 200 lbs. of tobacco, for every time of such 
meeting. 

All ministers officiating in any public cure, and six of their family, shall be exempted 
from public taxes. 

, 1663. — If any Quakers, or other separatists whatsoever, in this colony, assemble 
themselves together to the number of five or more, of the age of sixteen years, or up- 
wards, under the pretence of joining in a religious worship not authorized in England 
or this country, the parties so offending, being thereof lawfully convicted by verdict, 
confessions, or notorious evidence of the fact, shall, for the first offence, forfeit and pay 
200 lbs. of tobacco ; for the second offence, 500 lbs. of tobacco, to be levied by warrant 
from any justice of the peace, upon the goods of the party convicted ; but if he be 
unable, then upon the goods of any other of the separatists or Quakers then present. 
And for the third offence, the offender being convicted as aforesaid, shall be banished 
the colony of Virginia. 

Every master of a ship or vessel, that shall bring in any Quakers to reside here, after 
the 1st of July next, shall be fined 5000 lbs. of tobacco, to be levied by distress and 
sale of his goods, and enjoined to carry him, her, or them, out of the country again. 

Any person inhabiting tljis country, and entertaining any Quaker in or near his house, 
to preach or teach, shall, for every time of such entertainment, be fined 5000 lbs. of 
tobacco. 

1668. — The 27th of August, appointed for a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer, 
to implore God's mercy ; if any person be found upon that day gaming, drinking, or 
working, (works of necessity excepted,) upon presentment by the church-wardens, and 



152 MISCELLANIES. 

proof, he shall be fined 100 lbs. of tobacco, half to the informer, and half to the poor 
of the parish. 

1670. — None but freeholders and housekeepers shall have any voice in the election of 
Burgesses — every county not sending two Burgesses to every session of the Assembly, 
shall be fined 10,000 lbs. of tobacco, to the use of the public. 

1676. — The allowance of every Burgess for the future, shall be 120 lbs. of tobacco 
and cask, per day ; to Commence two days before every Assembly, and continue two 
days after. And for their travelling charges, there shall be allowed to those that come 
by land, 10 lbs. of tobacco per day for every horse so used. And for water passage, 
tliey shall be allowed proportionably. 

1679. — The first offence of hog stealing, shall be punished according to the former 
law ; upon a second conviction, the offender shall stand two hours in the pillory, and 
lose his ears ; and for the third offence, he shall be tried by the laws of England, as in 
case of felony. 

1680. — No licensed attorney shall demand or receive, for bringing any cause to 
judgment in the general court, more than 500 lbs. of tobacco and cask ; and in the 
county court, 150 lbs. of tobacco and cask ; which fees are allowed him without any 
pre-agreement. 

If any attorney shall refuse to plead any cause in the respective courts aforesaid, for 
the aforesaid fees, he shall forfeit as much as his fees should have been. 



LIFE IN WESTERN VIRGINIA. 

Much of Western Virginia is yet a new country, and thinly settled ; and in some of 
the more remote and inaccessible counties, the manner of living and the habits of the 
people are quite primitive. Many of these mountain counties are so far from markets, 
that it is a common saying among the inhabitants that they can only sell those things 
which will " walk away" — meaning cattle, horses, swine, &c. Of the latter, immense 
droves are sent to the east annually from this country, and Tennessee, Kentucky, and 
Ohio. I'he feeding of the swine, as they pass through the country in the autumn of 
each year, supplies a market for much of the corn which is produced. Aside from this, 
there is but little inducement for each one to raise more grain than his own family will 
consume ; and consequently, there is but little room for enterprise on the part of the agri- 
culturist. His products, when they sell at all, bring but a trivial sum. For instance, 
corn, the chief product, brings but from 17 to 25 cents per bushel ; oats, 12 1-2 cts. do. ; 
pork, beef, and venison, ^2 to $2 50 neat per 100 lbs. ; and other things in proportion. 
This pay, too, is frequently in store-goods, on which the merchant, owing to his small 
amount of custom, charges heavy profits. For foreign luxuries, the agriculturist pays 
the highest prices, — the expense of transportation from the north — where they are usu- 
ally purchased by the merchant — to the wild parts of Western Virginia, being 3 or 4 
cents per pound : so for bulky articles, as sugar, coffee, &c., the consumer is obliged to 
pay several cents a pound more than an inhabitant of the older portions of the state. 
He, however, graduates his wants to his means ; and although he may not have the 
fine house, equipage, dress, &c., of the wealthy planter, yet he leads a manly life, and 
breathes the pure air of the hills with the contented spirit of a freeman. Living 

" Far from the maddening crowd's ignoble strife, 
His sober wishes never learn to stray ; 
Along the cool, sequestered vale of life, 
He keeps the noiseless tenor of his way." 

The inhabitants of the mountain counties are almost perfectly independent. Many a 
young man with but a few worldly goods, marries, and, with an axe on one shoulder 
and a rifle on the other, goes into the recesses of the mountains, where land can be had 
for almost nothing. In a few days he has a log-house and a small clearing. Visit him 
some fine day thirty years afterwards, and you will find he has eight or ten children — 
the usual number here — a hardy, healthy set ; forty or fifty acres cleared, mostly culti- 
vated in corn ; a rude square log bin, built in cob-house fashion, and filled with corn in 
the cob, stands beside his cabin ; near it is a similar structure, in which is a horse ; and 
scattered about are half a dozen hay-ricks ; an immense drove of hogs, and some cat- 
tle, are roaming at large in the adjoining forest. And if it is what is called " mast year" 
— that is, if the forests abound in nuts, acorns, &c. — these animals will be found to be 
very fat, and display evidence of good living 



MISCELLANIES. 153 

Enter the dwelling. The lady of the house, and all her children, are attired In home- 
spun. Her dress is large, of convenient form, and entirely free from the fashionable 
lacing universal elsewhere. It is confined together with buttons, instead of hooks and 
eyes. She looks strong and healthy — so do her daughters — and as rosy and blooming as 
" flowers by the way-side." Her sons, too, are a sturdy-looking set, who soon (if not 
now) will be enabled to fell a tree or shoot a deer with facihty. The house and furni- 
ture are exceedingly plain and simple, and, with the exception of what belongs to the 
cupboard, principally manufactured in the neighborhood. The husband is absent, hunt- 
ing. At certain seasons of the year, what time he can spare from his little farm he 
passes in the excitement of the chase, and sells the skins of his game. 

Soon he enters with a buck or bear he has shot, (for he is a skilful marksman,) or per- 
haps some other game. He is fifty years of age, yet in his prime — a stout, athletic man ; 
his countenance is bronzed by exposure, and his frame seems almost of iron ; he is 
robed in a hunting-shirt of picturesque form, made, too, of homespun, and ornamented 
with variegated fringe ; and a pair of moccasins are on his feet. He receives you with 
a blunt, honest welcome, and as he gives you his hand, his heart goes with it ; for 
he looks upon you as a friend ; he has passed his life among the mountains, in the midst 
of a simple-hearted people, who have but little practical knowledge of the deceit which 
those living in densely-populated communities, among the competitive avocations of so- 
ciety, are tempted to practice. His wife prepares dinner. A neat white cloth is spread, 
and soon the table is covered with good things. On it is a plate of hot corn-bread, pre- 
serves of various kinds, bacon, venison, and more than probable three varieties of meat. 
Your host may ask a blessing — thanks to the itinerating system of the Methodists, 
which has even reached this remote spot — his wife pours you out a " dish of coffee," 
the great luxury of the country, and frequently used at every meal : it is thickened with 
cream — not milk — and sweetened with sugar from the maple grove just front of the 
house. The host bids you help yourself, and, if not squeamish, you " go into it," and 
enjoy that plain, substantial meal better than you ever did a dinner at Astor's. 

Now mount your nag and be off! As you descend the mountain-path faintly dis- 
cerned before you, and breathe the pure, fresh air of the hills, cast your eyes upon the 
most impressive of scenes, for Nature is there in all her glory. Far down in the valley, 
to the right, winds a lovely stream ; there hid by the foliage overarching its bright waters 
— anon it appears in a clearing — again, concealed by a sweep of the mountain you are 
descending — still beyond, it seems diminished to a silvery thread. To the right and 
front is a huge mountain, in luxuriant verdure, at places curving far into the plain, — and 
at those points, and at the summits, bathed in a sea of golden light, — at others, receding, 
thrown into dark, sombre, forbidding shades. Beyond are mountains piled on moun- 
tains, like an uptossed sea of ridges, until they melt away in distance, and imagination 
fancies others still farther on. High in blue ether float yon clouds of snowy white, and 
far above them, in majestic flight, sails the bird of the mountain, with an air as wild, as 
free, as the spirit of liberty. How every thing is rejoicing all around ! Innumerable 
songsters are warbling sweetest music ; those wild flowers, with scarce the morning dew 
from off their lips, are opening their bright cheeks to the sun ; and even the tiny insects 
flitting through the air, join in the universal hallelujah ! Now fast losing the scene, 
you are entering the dark, solemn forest, densely matted above with vines, almost ex- 
cluding the light of day. You are soon at the base of the mountains, and from the copse 
before you out starts a deer ! the graceful animal pricks up its ears, distends its nostrils 
in fear, and, gathering its slender limbs ready for a spring, then bounds away, over hil- 
locks and through ravines, and is seen no more. The stream, broad and shallow, is 
wending its way across your road with gentle murmurings, — splash ! splash ! goes your 
horse's feet into the water ; forty times in ten miles does it cross your road, and in vari- 
ous places for many hundred yards your course is directly through it. There are no 
bridges upon it : there are comparatively few in Western Virginia. 

The above picture of a mountaineer, with a sketch of the wild and romantic scenery 
among which he lives, is a common, though not a universal one ; but between him and 
the wealthy inhabitant of a large village, who lives in the enjoyment of every blessing, 
are all grades. Many cannot read or write, and many that can, know nothing of geo- 
graphy and other branches. The country is too thinly settled to carry out a system of 
common schools, although the state makes liberal appropriations for that purpose. The 
mountaineer who lives not within half a day's travel of a school-house, cannot afford, 
like the wealthy lowland planter, to hire a private instructor, and pay him a heavy 
salary. 

20 



154 



MISCELLANIES. 



Among tliese mountain fastnesses is much latent talent, which requires only an op- 
portunity for its development. Many of the people are of Scotch-Irish descent, and 
possess the bravery and other noble traits of their ancestry. Almost entirely isolated 
from the world, fashion, with her iron sway, has not stereotyped manners, modes of 
thought, and expression ; and, therefore, an amusing originality and ingenuity in meta- 
phor is frequently displayed. The educated of this mountain region are often men of 
high intelligence, fine address, and are possessed of all that which gives zest to sociaV 
intercourse. 

To further illustrate the subject we are upon, the manners and customs of the moun- 
taineers, we will introduce an article — already elsewhere published by us — giving our ad- 
ventures in one of the wildest counties in the state : 




A Religious Encampment in a Forest. 

Towards the close of an autumnal day, while travelling through this thinly-settled re- 
gie , I cau.e up with a substantial looking farmer, leaning on a fence by the road-side. 
I accoiupanied him to his house to spend the night. It stood in a field, a quarter of a 
mile from the road, and was one of tlie better sort of log-dwellings, inasmuch as it had 
two stories and two or three small windows. In its rear was a small log structure, about 
fifteen feet square, the weaving-shop of the family. On entering the house, I found a 
numerous family, all clothed in substantial garments of their own manufacture. The 
floor was unadorned by a carpet, and the room devoid of superfluous furniture ; yet all 
that necessity required to make tiiem comfortable. One needs but little experience like 
this to discover how few are our real wants, how easily most luxuries of dress, equipage, 
and furniture can be dispensed witli. After my arrival, two or three chickens were 
knocked down in the y.nd, and ere long supper was ready. It consisted of chickens, 
bacon, hoe-cake, and buckwheat cakes. Our beverage was milk, which is used at all 
meals in Virginia, and cotfee thickened with cream and sweetened by maple sugar. 

Soon as it grew dark, my hostess took down a small candle-mould for three c iiidles, 
hanging from the wall on a frame-work just in front of the fire-place, in company with 
a. rifle, long strings of dried pumpkins, and other articles of household property. With 
this, she " run " her lights for tlie evening. On retiring, I was conducted to the room 
overhead, to which I ascended by stairs out of doors. My bed-fellow was the county 
sherift', a young man of about iny age ; and as we lay together, a f ,, field was had for 
astronomical observations through the chinks of the logs. On my informing him that 
this was one of the first log dwellings in which I had ever spent a night, he regarded 
me with astonishment, and proceeded to enlighten me upon life in the b. ; woods, giving 



MISCELLANIES. 155 

me details I could scarcely credit, but which subsequent experience fully verified. The 
next morning, after rising, I was looking for the washing apparatus, when he tapped me 
on the shoulder as a signal to accompany him to a brook just back of the house, in whose 
pure, crystal waters we performed our morning ablutions, and wiped ourselves dry with 
a coarse towel. 

After breakfast, through the persuasion of the sheriff, who appeared to have taken a 
sort of fancy to me, I agreed to go across the country by his house. He was on horse- 
back — I on foot. For six miles, our route lay through a pathless forest, on leaving which 
we passed through " the Court-Housc," the only village in the county, composed of 
about a dozen houses, mostly log, and a brick court-house. A mile beyond, my com- 
panion pointed to a small log structure asjthe place where he was initiated into the mys- 
teries of reading and writing. It was what is called, in Virginia, " an old field school- 
house," an expression, originating in the circumstance that these buildings, in the older 
portions of the state, are erected upon worn-out lands. Soon after, we came to a Meth- 
odist encanipment. The roads are here too rude to transport tents, hence the Methodista 
and Baptists, in this country, build log structures which stand from year to year, and 
afford much better shelter than tents. This encampment was formed of three continu- 
ous lines, each occupying a side of a square, and about one hundred and fifty feet in 
length. Eacli row was divided into six or eight cabins, with partitions between. The 
height of the rows on the inner side of the enclosed area, was about ten feet ; on the 
outer about six, to which the roof sloped slied-like. The door of each cabin opened on 
the inner side of the area, and at the back was a log chimney, wiiich came up even 
ailhthe roof. At the upper extremity of the enclosure formed by these three lines of 
cabins, was a shed, say thirty by fifty feet, in which was a coarse pulpit and log seats ; 
a few tall trees were standing in the area, and many stumps scattered here and there. 
The whole establishment was in the depth of a forest, and wild and rude as can well be 
imagined. Riligious pride would demand a more elegant temple ; but where could the 
humble more appropriately worship ? We read that 

"The groves were God's first temples. Ere man learned 
To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave, 
And spread the roof atwve them, — ere he framed 
The lofty vault, to gather and roll back 
The sound of anthems ; in the darkling wood, 
Amid the cool and silence, he knelt down 
And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks 
And supplication." 

In many of these sparsely-inhabited counties, there are no settled clergymen, and rare- 
ly do the people hear any other than the Methodist and Baptist preachers. Here is the 
itinerating system of Wesley exhibited in its full usefulness. The circuits usually are of 
three weeks duration, in which the clergymen preach about every day : so it rarely hap- 
pens, in some neighborhoods, when they have public worship, that it is on the Sabbath. 
Most of these preachers are men of indefatigable energy, and often endure great priva- 
tions. 

'•y After sketching the encampment, I came in a few minutes to the dwelling of the 
'sheriff". Close by it, -w&rii about a dozen mountaineers, and several highland lassies, 
seated around a log corn-bin, twelve feet square, ten high, and open at the top, into 
which these neighbors of my companion were casting ears of corn, fast as they could 
husk them. Right merrily did they perform the task. The men were large and hardy, 
— the damsels plump and rosy, dressed in good, warm, homespun garments, which, in- 
stead of being hooked and eyed, were buttoned up behind. The sheriff" informed me 
that he owned about two thousand acres of land around his dwelling, and that its whole 
value was about one thousand dollars, or fifty cents per acre ! I entered his house, which 
was of logs, one story in height, about twenty feet square, and divided into two small 
rooms, without any windows or openings for them, and no place to let in light, except 
by a door in its front, and one in the rear. I soon partook of a meal, in which we had 
quite a variety of luxuries, among which was hearts meat. A blessing was asked at 
table by one of the neighbors. Alter supper, the bottle, as usual at corn-huskings, was 
circulated. The sheriff learning I was a Washingtonian, with the politeness of one of 
nature's gentlemen, refrained from urging me to participate. The men drank very mod- 
erately. Indeed, in my travels over nearly the whole of Virginia, I have seen far less 
intemperance than in my similar wanderings at the north. We all drew around the 
fire, the light of which was the only one we had. Hunting stories, and kindred topics, 
served to talk down the hours until bed-time. There were in the room two beds. One 
was occupied by a married couple the other by myself ; but there were no curtains be- 
tween. 



156 MISCELLANIES. 

On awaking in the morning, I saw two ladies cooking breakfast in my bed-room, and 
three gentlemen seated over the fire, watching that interesting operation. 

Having completed my toilet, my host, from a spring hard by, dipped a pitcher and 
poured the water into my hands, for me to wash myself. After breakfast, I bade the 
sheriff farewell, buckled on my knapsack, and left. He was a generous, warm-hearted 
man, and on my offering a remuneration, he replied, " you are welcome ; call again 
when this way." 

In the course of two hours, I came to a cabin by the way-side. There being no gate, 
I sprang over the fence, entered the open door, and was received with a hearty welcome. 
It was a humble dwelling, the abode of poverty. There was a neatness in the arrange- 
ment of the few articles of furniture extremely pleasing. In a corner stood two beds, 
one hung with curtains, and both spread with coverlets of snowy white, forming a con- 
trast to the dingy log walls, rude furniture, and rough boarded floor of this, the only 
room of the dwelling. Around a cheerful fire was seated an interesting family group. 
In one corner, on the hearth, sat the mother, who had given up her chair to me, smo- 
king a pipe. Next to her was a little girl, in a little chair, holding a httle kitten. In the 
opposite corner sat the father, a venerable old man of Herculean stature, robed in a 
hunting-shirt, and with a countenance as majestic and impressive as a Roman senator. 
In the centre of the group was a young maiden, about eighteen, modest and retiring, 
not beautiful, except in that moral beauty virtue gives. She was reading to them from 
a little book. She was the only one in the family who could read, and she could do so 
but imperfectly. In that book, which cost perhaps two shillings, was the whole secret 
of the neatness and happiness found in this lowly cot. That little book was the New 
Testament ! 

I conversed with the father. He was, he said, " a poor mountaineer, ignorant of the 
world." He was, it is true ; but he had the independence of a man — the humility of a 
Christian. As I left the cottage, the snow-flakes were slowly falling, and I pursued my 
lonely way through the forest, with buoyant feelings, reflecting upon this beautiful exhi- 
bition of the religion of the meek and lowly One. How exquisite are these lines, as ap- 
plied to a similar scene : 

" Compared with this, how poor Religion's pride, 
In all the pomp of method and of art. 
When men display to congregations wide 

Devotion's every grace, except the heart. 
But happy we, in some cot far apart, 
May hear, well pleased, the language of the soul." 



LIFE IN EASTERN VIRGINIA. 

In the foreground of the engraving illustrating the Home of the Planter, is a colored 
woman strutting across the yard with a tub of water on her head. Near her is a group 
of white and black miniature specimens of humanity, playing in great glee. In the 
middle ground is the mansion of the planter, pleasantly embowered in a grove of locusts. 
The mansion itself has the chimneys on the outside, a peculiar feature in the domestic 
architecture of the southern states. Under the shade of the porch sits the planter, with 
a pail of water by his side, from which, in warm weather, he is accustomed to take 
frequent draughts. At the door are a gentleman and lady, about making a social visit. 
On the right are the quarters of the blacks, where is seen the overseer, with some 
servants. In the distance is shown a river ; the finest plantations being generally on 
the fertile banks of some calm, flowing stream. This completes the picture, which we 
trust will prove a familiar one to most of our readers. 

It is, perhaps, unnecessary to describe in detail the Ufe of a planter, as it is incident- 
ally illustrated in several places in this volume. The term planter, originally applied in 
this state to those who cultivated the tobacco-plant, is now an expression commonly 
used in reference to all agriculturists of the lowlands. This class forms the great bulk 
of the inhabitants, and from it have arisen most of the distinguished statesmen who 
have shed such lustre upon the name of Virginia. Settled, as this portion of the state 
was, by old English cavaliers, their descendants have many of the same traits of char- 
acter. The introduction of slaves has given them the leisure to cultivate the eleganciea 
of life, to mix much in social intercourse, and to become familiar with all current polit- 
ical topics. From this, too, has arisen much of the hospitality for which the planter is 
proverbial. Nowhere are the wishes and wants of the stranger guest more regarded, 
and nowhere is the character of a true gentleman held more sacred. The planter is also 



MISCELLANIES. 157 

noted for his frankness and sincerity. And why should he not be ? He does not en- 
gage in the strife and turmoil of trade. He has no business secrets. His better nature 
has not been shocked, and his leelings blunted, by familiarity with the devices of the 
business world. Hence, his address is frank and free, and there is often a child-like 
simplicity and ingenuousness of manner that charms the stranger, and wins his strong- 
est affections. The current of the planter's life runs smooth ; and if possessed of a suf- 
ficiency, none can live more independently, more free from the distracting cares which 
often cut short the days of the man of business, and render his pilgrimage here one 
•constant scene of struggle and perplexity. 

We herewith present a description of the condition of the slaves. It is from the 
pen of a judge of one of the Virginia courts, and was published in a work a few years 
since. It is in the form of answers to certain queries made by the author of that 
work : 

" I am not certain that I understand the scope of the first inquiry : ' The laws for the 
government of the master and the slave in Virginia.' Properly speaking, there are no 
laws affecting this relation. Both are under the protection of the law to a certain extent. 
The master would be punished for any mayhem or felony committed on the slave ; but 
it has been decided that no prosecution will lie against him, even for excessive beating, 
not amounting to mayhem or felony. It has never been found necessary to enact laws 
for the government of the master in his treatment of the slave, for reasons that will 
appear hereafter. 

" We have many laws respecting slaves, controlling them in certain particulars. 
Thus, they are not allowed to keep or carry military weapons — nor to leave home with- 
out a written permission — nor to assemble at any meeting-house or otijer place in the 
night, under pretence of religious worship — nor at any school, for the purpose of being 
taught to read or write — nor to trade and go at large as freemen — nor to hire themselves 
out — nor to preach or exhort. Some of the penalties for a violation of these laws are 
imposed upon the master, for permitting his slave to do certain acts ; in other cases, the 
slave is liable to be taken before a justice of the peace, and punished by stripes, never 
exceeding thirty-nine. 

" Slaves emancipated by their masters, are directed to leave the state within twelve 
months from the date of their emancipation. 

" These laws, and every other having the appearance of rigor towards the slave, are 
nearly dead letters upon our statute book, unless during times of excitement, or since 
the efforts of the abolitionists have reanimated them. I have, until lately, scarcely 
known an instance in which they have been enforced. 

" It is equally rare to witness the trial of a slave for any except very serious crimes. 
There are many offences committed by them, for which a freeman would be sent to the 
penitentiary, that are not noticed at all, or punished by a few stripes under the directions 
of the master. 

" When tried for a crime, it is before a court of at least five magistrates, who must 
be unanimous to convict. They are not entitled to a trial by jury, but it is acknow- 
ledged on all hands that this is a benefit, and not a disadvantage. The magistrates are 
more respectable than common jurors ; and, being generally slave-holders themselves, 
they feel a certain sympathy with the prisoner, or, at all events, an absence of that pre- 
judice to which common jurors are very subject. 

" Slaves may be taught, and many of them are taught, in their owner's family. They 
are allowed to attend religious worship conducted by white ministers, and to receive 
from them rehgious instruction. In point of fact, they go where they please on Sun- 
days, and at all other times when they are not engaged in labor. 

" 2. ' The rights and duties of slaves,' as a distinct class, are not defined by law. 
They depend upon usage or custom, which controls the will of the master. Thus, the 
law does not recognise their right to hold property, but no instance is known of the 
master's interfering with their little acquisitions ; and it often happens, that they are 
considerable enough to purchase themselves and family. In such cases I have never 
known the master to exact from the slave the full price that he might have obtained 
from others. In the same manner, the quantity and quality of food and clothing, the 
hours of labor and rest, the holidays, the privileges, &c., of the slave, are regulated by 
custom, to depart materially from which, would disgrace the master in public opinion. 

" 3. ' The domestic relations of the master and slave.' On this subject the grossest 
misrepresentations have been made. It seems to be imagined at the North that our 
society is divided horizontally. All above the line, tyrants — all below it, trembling, 
crouching slaves. Nothing can be more unlike the real pioture. The intercourse be- 



158 MISCELLANIES. 

tween the master and slave is kind, respectful, and approaching to intimacy. It must 
be recollected, that they have been brought up together, and often form attachments 
that are never broken. The servants about the house are treated rather as humble 
friends than otherwise. Those employed differently have less intercourse with the 
white family ; but, when they meet, there is a civil, and often cordial greeting on both 
sides. The slaves generally look upon their masters and mistresses as their protectors 
and friends. Born slaves, and famiharized with their condition, they have no wish to 
change it when left to themselves. When they compare it with that of the poor labor- 
ing whites in their own neighborhood, no envy is excited, but an opposite sentiment. 
The slave of a gentleman, universally considers himself a superior being to 'poor white 
folks.' They take pride in their master's prosperity ; identify his interest with their 
own ; frequently assume his name, and even his title, and speak of his farm, his crops, 
and other possessions, as their own ; and well, indeed, may they employ this language, 
for they know that the greater part of the profits is hberally devoted to their use. 

" In their nature the slaves are generally affectionate ; and particularly so to the 
children of the family, which lays the foundation of the attachments I have spoken of, 
continuing through life. The children are always favorites, and the feeling is reciprocated. 
It is a great mistake to suppose that the children are permitted to tyrannize over the 
slaves, young or old ; and that they learn in this way domineering habits. Some may, 
but more frequently there is rather too mucla familiarity between the white femalos and 
children of a family, and the slaves of the same description. The children play together 
on terms of great equality ; and if the white child gives a blow, he is apt to have it returned 
with interest. At many tables you will find the white children rising from them, with 
their little hands full of the best of every thing, to carry to their nurses or playmates ; 
and I have often known them to deny themselves for the sake of their favorites. Tiiese 
propensities are encouraged, and every thing like: violence or tyranny strictly prohibited. 
The consequence is, that when the young master (or mistress) is installed into his full 
rights of property, he finds around him no alien hirelings, ready to quit his service upon 
the slightest provocation, but attached and faithful friends, known to him from his in- 
fancy, and willing to share his fortunes, wherever they may carry him. The connection 
is more that of the Scottish clansman, than of the English serf in times past ; 
and it influences all their future intercourse. The old gray-headed servants are address- 
ed by almost every member of the white family as uncles or aunts. The others are 
treated with at 1 ast as much respectful familiarity as if they were white laborers, and 
I should say with more. Fully aware of their standing and consequence, they never 
hesitate to apply to their masters and mistresses in every difficulty. If they have any 
want, they expect to be relieved — if they are maltreated, they ask redress at their 
hands. Seldom or never are appeals of this kind made in vain. Injury' to the slave 
from any quarter, is regarded as an injury to the master. Oji no subject is a Virginian 
more sensitive ; for he considers himself bound, by every moral obligation, to protect 
and defend his slave. If he is carried before a justice for any offence, the master ac- 
companies him ; if he is arraigned before the courts, the master employs counsel, and 
does every thing in his power to see that he has justice. In fact, the disposition is to 
screen the slave by every possible means, even when his guilt is apparent, and I have 
known this carried to very unjustifiable lengths. In short, as far as my observation has 
■extended, and I have been in free as well as slave states, I do not hesitate to affirm, 
that the domestic relations of the master and slave are of a more familiar, confidential, 
and even respectful character, than those of the employer and hireling elsewhere. 

"4. ' The usual duration of the labor of the slave,' is from sunrise to sunset, with the 
exception of about one hour and a half allowed for breakfast, and from 12 to 2 o'clock 
for dinner. In harvest-time they get out somewhat earlier. But any extraordinary dili- 
gence during this period is more than made up by their being allowed, at its termination, 
a. few days to labor for themselves, or for others who have not finished, and from whom 
*hey receive wages. The women in this part of the state do very httle field-work. 
They are engaged in spinning, cooking for the out-hands, and taking care of the chil- 
dren. Few women are worth their victuals and clothes. Their labors are very light 
and profitless. A white laboring woman will do double as much. 

" 5. 'The liberty usually allowed him, his holidays and amusements, the manner in 
which they usually pass their evenings and holidays.' Under these heads may be class- 
ed various privileges enjoyed by the slave. When he is not at work he is under no 
restriction or surveillance. He goes where he pleases, seldom taking the trouble to ask 
for a pass ; and if he is on the farm at the appointed hours, no inquiry is made how he 
has employed the interval. The regular holidays are two at Easter, two at Whitsuntide, 



MISCELLANIES. 159 

and a week at Christmas. These he enjoys by prescription ; and others, such as 
Saturday evenings, by the indulgence of his master. He passes them in any way he 
pleases. Generally, they are spent in visiting from house to house, and in various 
amusements. His favorite one, if he can raise a violin, is dancing. But this, unfor- 
tunately, is going out of fashion, both with whites and blacks, and no good substitute 
has been found for it. They, however, assemble at their cabins to laugh, chat, sing, 
and tell stories, with all imaginable glee. No present care seems to annoy, no antici- 
pated sorrow to deject them, but they surrender themselves fully and entirely to the en- 
joyment of the passing moments. They know that, under all circumstances, their 
masters must provide for them. Of course they have no anxiety about their families, 
or the failure of crops, or the course of the seasons, or the horrors of debt, or any other 
of the many circumstances which embitter the life of the freeman, and render sad or 
thoughtful the gayest disposition. 

" Other of the slaves, who are more provident, employ a portion of their holidays and evenings in 
working for themselves. Each head of a family, or married man or woman, has a cabin allotted for his 
or her accommodation. These cabins are usually made of logs, chinked and plastered, with plank or 
dirt floors. Some proprietors build them of brick or stone, or framed wood, but I do not believe the 
slaves generally prefer them. They like the large, open fireplace of the cabin, where a dozen or more 
can sit round the blazing hearth, filled with as much wood as would supply a patent stove for ten days. 
Stoves they abominate, and small Rumfordized fireplaces. Near- their cabins they have ground allotted 
for their garden and patch of corn, la their gardens they have every vegetable they choose to cultivate, 
besides raising pumpkins, broom-corn, &c. in their masters' corn-fields. Most of them are permitted to 
raise a hog, to dispose of as they please ; and these hogs are invariably the largest and fattest on the 
farm. They also raise fowls of every description, and sell them for the most part to their owners, at a 
fair price. Their allowance of food is never diminished on these accounts. Their hog, their fowls, their 
vegetables, their brooms, and baskets, and flag-chairs, and many other articles, they are allowed to sell, 
for the purpose of purchasing Sunday clothes and finery, to show off at meetings and other public occa- 
sions. In this way, those who are at all industrious, are enabled to appear as well dressed as any peas- 
antry in the world. 

" 6. ' The provision made for their food and clothing, for those who are too young or too old to labor.' 
The slaves always prefer Indian corn-meal to flour. Of this, the old and young, in this part of Virginia, 
are allowed just as much as they can eat or destroy. They have, besides, a certain quantity of bacon 
given out every week, amounting to about half a pound a day for each laborer or grown person. When 
they have beef or fish, the allowance of bacon is less ; but, as it is the food they love best, they have 
always a portion of it. Besides this, they have milk and vegetables on most farms in abundance, with- 
out touching their own stores. The old and infirm fare like the rest, unless their situation re- 
quires coffee, sugar, &c., which are always provided. The young slaves have also their meats, but less 
in quantity, and they depend more upon bread, milk, and vegetables. To look at them, you would see al 
once they are well fed. On small farms the slaves fare better than on large ones, there being little dif- 
ference in the food of the whites and blacks, except in articles of mere luxury. But, on the largest, 
their usual allowance is that which I have mentioned. They have three meals a day, and it is rare to 
see them eating what they call dry bread at any one. 

" Their allowance of clothing is qiiite uniform ; and consists of a hat, a blanket, two suits of clothes, 
three shirts or shifts, and two pair of shoes, a year. The winter suit is of strong linsey cloth ; the sum- 
mer, of linen for the men, and striped cotton for the women. The men's cloth is dressed and fulled. 
The children have linsey and cotton garments, but no shoes or hat, until they are ten or eleven years 
old, and begin to do something. Their beds are sometimes of featlier, generally of straw, and are well 
furnished ; some prefer to lie like the Indians, on their blankets. 

" Compaiing their situation with respect to food and clothing with our own white laborers, I would say 
that it is generally preferable. In each case, much depends on the industry and management of the 
party ; but there is this difference, that the slave, however lazy or improvident, is furnished with food 
and clothing at regular periods, which the white man of the same temperament is unable to procure. 
When the white man, too, is so old and infirm that he can no longer labor, his situation is truly deplo- 
rable, if he has laid up nothing for support. Bt the old and infirm slave is still supported by his master, 
with the same care and attention as before. He cannot even set him free vvithout providing for his 
maintenance, for our law makes his estate liable. 

" 7. ' Their treatment when sick.' Being considered as valuable property, it might naturally be con- 
cluded that they would be pi ■perly attended to when sick. But better feelings than any connected with 
their value as property, prompt the white family to pay every attention to the sick slave. If it is deemed 
at all necessary, a physician is immediately called in. On large farms he is trequently employed by the 
year ; but, if not, he is sent for whenever there is occasion for his services. If the slave is a hireling, 
our law compels the owner, not the hirer, to pay the physician's fees, so that the latter has every motive 
of interest to send for a physician, without being liable for the expense. Where there are many slaves 
together, the proprietor sometimes erects an hospital, provided with nurses and the usual accommoda- 
tions. In all cases coming under my observation, whatever is necessary for the comfort of the sick is 
furnished, as far as the master has meavs They are frequently visited by the white family, and what- 
ever they, wish to have is supplied. Such indulgence, ami oven tenderness, is extended to them on these 
occasions, that it sometimes induces the lazy to feign sickness ; but I have never knon n them, in these 
suspected cases, to be hurried to their work until their deception became manifest, or Uie report of the 
physician justified it. It is my decided conviction, that the poor laborers of no country under heaven are 
better taken care of than the sick slaves in Virginia. There may be, and no doubt are, exceptions to 
many of these observations ; but I speak of their general ti-eatment as I have known it, or heard it 
rep.irted. 

"8. ' Their rewards and punishments.' Of rewards, properly speaking, the slaves have few— of in- 
dulgences they have many ; but they are not employed as rewards, for all usually partake in them with- 
out discrimination. The system of rewards has not, to my knowledge, been fairly tried. Sometimes 
slaves who have conducted themselves well, or labored diligently, are allowed more time than others to 
attend to their own affairs, or permitted to trade on their own account, paying some small sum ; and they 
are treated, of course, with greater respect and confidence than the idle and worthless. But I know ol 



160 ' MISCELLANIES. 

no instance in which specific rewards have been offered for specific acts of good conduct. In this respect 
they are treated much like s'lldlers and sailors. 

" As to their punishments, they are rare, and seldom disproportioned to the offence. Oiu* laws are 
mild, and make little discrimination between slaves and free whites, except in a few political offences. 
The punishments inflicted by the master partake of the same character. The moral sense of the com- 
munity wovild not tolerate cruelty in a master. I know of nothing that would bring him more surely 
into disgrace. On a tarm where there may be one hundred slaves, there will not, perhaps, be one pun- 
ished on account of his work during the year, although it is often done in a careless, slovenly manner, 
and not half as much as a white laborer would do. For insolent and unruly conduct to their overseers, 
for quarrelling and fighting with each other, for theft and other offences, which would send the white 
man to the whipping-post or penitentiary, they are punished more frequently, but always with modera- 
tion. Very often they escape altogether, when the white man would certainly be punished. I have lived 
in different parts of Virginia for more than 30 years, since my attention has been directed to such sub- 
jects ; and I do not recollect half a dozen instances in which I ever saw a gjrown slave stripped and 
whipped. Such a spectacle is almost as rare as to see a similar punishment inflicted on a white man. 
When it is considered that, except for the highest grade of crimes, the punishment of the slave is left 
pretty much (practically) to his master's discretion, I am persuaded it will be found that they are in this 
respect in no worse condition than laborers elsewhere. No other punishment is inflicted except stripes 
or blows. They are not imprisoned, or placed upon short allowance, or condemned to any cruel or un- 
usual punishments from which white persons are exempted. 

"The worst feature in our society, and the most revolting, is the purchase and sale of slaves; and it 
is this which renders their situations precarious and uncomfortable, and occasions them more uneasiness 
than all other causes combined. On this subject I will submit a few observations before I close this let- 
ter. So far as the traffic is confined to the neighborhood, it is of little consequence, and is often done for 
the accommodation of the slave. It breaks no ties of kindred, and occasions only a momentary pang, 
by transferring the slave from the master who, perhaps, is no longer able to keep him, to one as good, 
who is able, or who purchases because he owns his wife or child, &c. It is the sale to negro-buyers by 
profession, which is in general so odious to the slave, although there are instances in which these artful 
men prevail with them to apply to their owners to be sold. Such sales, except in the rare instance just 
alluded to, are never voluntarily made of slaves whose conduct and character are good. Masters will not 
part with their slaves but from sheer necessity, or for flagrant delinq^iencies, which in other countries 
would be punished by deportation at least. Thousands retain them when they know full well that their 
pecuniary condition would be greatly improved by selling, or even giving them away. It is the last pro- 
perty the master can be induced to part with. Nothing but the dread of a jail will prevail with him. 
Negro-traders, although there are many among us, are universally despised by the master, and detested 
by the body of the slaves. Their trade is supported by the misfortunes of the master, and the crimes or 
miscondiict of the slave, and not by the will of either party, except in a few instances. Sometimes the 
slave, after committing a theft or other crime, will abscond, for fear of detection ; or will be enticed away 
from his master's service by holding out to him false hopes ; and perhaps the negro-buyer himself is the 
decoy. If caught, he is generally sold, for the sake of he example to other slaves. From these sources 
the negro-buyers are supplied ; but it does not happen, a one case out of a thousand, that the master 
willingly sells an honest, faithful slave. The man doing so would be looked upon as a sordid, inhuman 
wi"etch; and be shunned by his neighbors and countrymen of respectable standing. 

"I believe, if any plan could be fiillen upon to remove our slaves to a place where they would be 
willing to go, and where their condition would be probably improved, that many, very many masters 
would be ready to mai;;mit them. An opinion is entertained by increasing numbers, that slave labor is 
too expensive to be continued in a grain-growing statCj if its place can be supplied by freemen. In other 
words, that the free laborer would cost less, and work harder, than the slave. But the slaves themselves 
are unwilling to go to Liberia, and very few would accept their freedom on that condition. Some, 
already emancipated, remain in the state, incurring the constant risk of being sold as slaves. To send 
them to any part of our own country without worldly knowledge or capital, is deemed by most masters 
false humanity; and to retain them here in the condition of free negroes is impossible. 

"Until some plan can be suggested to remove these difficulties, under the guidance and direction of 
the constituted authorities, we are averse to all agitation of the subject. We know it will be attended 
vrifh danger to one class, and will increase the burdens and privations of the other. Hence our indigna- 
tion at the movements of the Northern abolitionists, who are meddling with a subject they know nothing 
about. Let them come among us, and see the actual condition of the slaves, as well as of the whites, 
and I am persuaded that all whose intentions are really good, would, on their return, advise their de- 
luded co-operators to desist from agitation." 



STATISTICS AND CENSUS OF THE COUNTIES OF VIRGINIA. 

The subjoined statistical table of the various counties of Virginia, is from the U. S. 
statistics and census of 1840. It presents a view of the relative agricultural, manu- 
facturing, and mercantile wealth of the various counties. 

Explanation of the Table. — The columns of neat cattle, sheep, and swine, show the 
number of thousands of those animals. The columns of wheat, rye, Indian corn, oats, 
and potatoes, give the number of thousand bushels annually produced. The columns 
of tobacco and cotton, give the number of thousand pounds produced. The columns 
of capital in stores, and in manufactures, give the number of thousand dollarg thus 
invested. The column of scholars in schools and academies, as well as those of the 
slaves and population, are carried out in full. 

It will be observed there are some blanks. These are left so, either from the fact 
that there are no statistics of sufficient amount for record, or that the marshals employed 
to take them, made no returns to the general government. 



MISCELLANIES. 



161 



Counties. 


•S 






, 




g- 




i 


g 


l4 


e 
- S 


g.i 
■S 2 


■S 




■B 




K 


CO 


m 


14 




-5 


o 


PK 


.a 


o 


o° 




& 


> 

53 


g. 


Accomac . . 


14 


10 


27 




643 


453 


113 






125 


73 


751 


4,630 


17,096 


Albemarle 


15 


21 


35 


327 


117 


712 


216 


29 


2409 




302 


261 


786 


13,809 


22,924 


Alleghany 


3 


4 


5 


25 


9 


71 


59 


9 


42 




2 


29 


88 


547 


2,749 


Amelia . . 


6 


8 


13 


51 




245 


106 


58 


1871 


6 


42 


21 


206 


7,023 


10,320 


Amherst 




8 


6 


17 


113 


11 


381 


145 




2106 


2 


78 


112 


674 


5,577 


12,576 


Augusta 




21 


20 


34 


324 


92 


384 


245 


48 






117 


138 


693 


4,145 


19,628 


Bath . 




9 


11 


8 


31 


27 


118 


79 


32 






32 


40 


196 


347 


4,300 


Bedford 




16 


15 


31 


206 


7 


537 




22 


3442 




70 


11 


197 


8,864 


20,203 


Berkley 




9 


13 


25 


287 


38 


391 


136 








123 


356 


727 


1,919 


10,972 


Botetourt 




9 


13 


21 


197 


22 


299 


185 




708 




152 


23 




2,925 


11,679 


Braxton 




3 


3 


6 


9 




67 


21 




4 




11 


21 




064 


2,575 


Brooke 




5 


34 


11 


140 


5 


135 


144 


63 






83 


450 


746 


091 


7,948 


Brunswick 


11 


6 


19 


27 




329 


116 




2141 


13 


56 


25 


282 


8,805 


14,346 


Buckingham 


12 


15 


22 


169 


1 


439 


227 


21 


2453 


11 


191 


226 


656 


10,014 


18,786 


Cabell . . . 


9 


10 


20 


39 


i 


379 


96 


17 


6 




67 


32 


339 


567 


8,163 


Campbell . . 


11 


14 


21 


178 




482 


228 


23 


3257 


4 


1690 


398 


585 


1,045 


21,030 


Caroline .» . 


10 


9 


19 


81 


13 


576 


120 


19 


774 


20 


132 


5 


589 


9,314 


17,813 


Charles City 


2 


2 


6 


36 




118 


45 


4 




2 


16 


11 


140 


2,433 


4,774 


Charlotte . ■s- . 


10 


15 


22 


65 




509 


247 


15 


4181 


19 


134 


44 


585 


9,260 


14,595 


Chesterfield . 


7 


7 


17 


34 




285 


156 


10 


680 


6 


20 


935 


420 


6,781 


17,148 


Clarke . . 


6 


8 


15 


258 


17 


267 


91 


20 








60 


281 


3,325 


6,353 


Culpeper 


11 


15 


20 


122 


14 


390 


128 


21 


29 




126 


78 


769 


6,069 


11,393 


Cumberland . 


6 


10 


10 


61 




247 


122 




2896 


23 


163 


107 


263 


6,781 


10,399 


Dinwiddie 


10 


8 


20 


37 




284 


137 


18 


2219 


71 


1921 


781 


894 


9,947 


22,558 


Elizabeth City 


2 


1 


5 


19 




80 


14 


11 




5 


46 


23 


274 


1,708 


3,706 


Essex . . . 


7 


7 


13 


74 


i 


419 


,40 


15 


4 


15 


140 


53 


378 


6,756 


11,309 


Fairfax 




13 


6 


10 


27 


fi 


158 ^ 67 


8 


13 








265 


3,453 


9,370 


Floyd . 




6 


8 


13 


24 


13 


73 


77 


20 


18 




11 


4 


160 


321 


4,453 


Fauquier 


_ . 


26 


35 


37 


362 


35 


670 


307 


57 


55 




381 


126 


1521 


10,708 


21,897 


Fluvanna 




5 


6 


9 


62 




182 


71 


8 


1279 




126 


97 


418 


4,146 


8,812 


Franklin 




12 


12 


?2 


97 


7 


430 


184 


18 


2508 


3 


119 


74 


367 




15,832 


Frederick 


v_. 


7 


13 


13 


173 


31 


300 


135 


37 






237 


226 


274 


2,302 


14,242 


Fayette 




4 


5 


7 


11 


4 


105 


64 


15 






20 


30 




133 


3,924 


Giles . 




7 


10 


13 


45 


35 


163 


69 


17 


13 




34 


33 


223 


574 


5,307 


Gloucester 


8 


5 


14 


56 




307 


62 


13 


8 




87 


28 


314 


5,791 


10,715 


Goochland .. 


6 


5 


11 


80 




259 


170 


10 


4501 


5 


80 


2 


139 


5,500 


9,760 


Grayson 


14 


18 


22 


28 


17 


219 


143 


34 






40 


5 


252 


492 


9,087 


Greene . . 


3 


3 


7 


40 


Ij 


124 


33 


8 


490 


1 


21 


24 


372 


1,740 


4,232 


Greenbrier . 


14 


19 


12 


69 


43 


207 


198 


32 






112 


69 


231 


1,214 


8,695 


Greensville . 


5 


4 


16 


9 




230 


93 


11 


346 


573 


39 


27 


200 


4,102 


6,366 


Halifax . . 


14 


17 


31 


78 




.598 


281 


16 


6209 


22 


171 


209 


809 


14,216 


25,936 


Hampshire . 


15 


27 


18 


179 


52 


471 


174 


71 






158 


63 


577 


1,403 


12,295 


Hanover . ^ 


10 


9 


14 


48 


18 


350 


177 


26 


615 


23 


20 


36 


417 


8,394 


14,968 


Hardy . . . 


24 


15 


13 


87 


18 


411 


41 


32 






69 


75 


218 


1,131 


7,622 


Harrison . . 


5 


3 


33 


136 


7 


421 


226 


62 


23 




99 


131 


436 


693 


17,699 


Henrico . . 


5 


2 


12 


39 


3 


248 


138 


12 


33 


1 


5340 


1384 


1862 


13,237 


33,076 


Henry . . , 


6 


5 


16 


40 




206 


74 


12 


1623 


3 


33 


14 


466 


2,852 


7,335 


Isle of Wight 


6 


h 


23 


4 




291 


29 


77 




31 


67 


36 


397 


3,786 


9,972 


Jackson 


5 


3 


11 


28 




117 


40 


5 


5 




16 


2 


153 


87 


4,890 


James City . 


3 


1 


5 


17 




86 


35 


3 


8 


6 


21 


6 


129 


1,947 


3,779 


Jefferson . . 


12 


67 


72 


517 


43 


99 


72 


151 






320 


344 


737 


4,157 


14,082 


Kanawha . . 


7 


4 


8 


14 




203 


23 


8 






117 


50 


408 


2,560 


13,567 


King and Queea 


8 


3 






3 


343 


36 


14 


8 


42 


21 


60 


548 


5,937 


10,862 


King George . . 


5 


5 


7 


38 


4 


254 


37 


6 


23 


4 


21 




189 


3,382 


5,927 


King William 


6 


5 


13 


59 


6 


350 


45 


17 


11 


56 


54 


51 


349 


5,780 


9,258 


Lancaster 


3 


2 


8 


26 






44 


7 




10 


30 


2 


140 


2,478 


4,628 


Lee .... 


10 


10 


34 


37 


7 


446 


103 


23 


23 




17 


31 


138 


580 


8,441 


Lewis . . . 


12 


15 


20 


47 


5 


253 


80 


24 


12 




59 


31 


219 


124 


8,151 


Logan . . . 


5 


2 


10 


7 




871 


28 


11 


9 




28 




370 


150 


4,309 



21 



162 



MISCELLANIES. 



1 

Counties. I 


O. 








£ 




i 


d 


c 


■ - i? 


a o 


■;- 


' 


g 
1 


Z 




'5 


$ 
573 




1 


o 


Cl, 


^ 
H 


O 


5.2 




V 


ra 


g. 


Loudon . . 2 


7 32 


39 


82 


892 


225 


53 


1 




275 


196 


1274 


5,273 


20,431 


Louisa . . 1 


1 13 201 


221 


1 




158 


15 


2431 




111 


70 


591 


9,010 


15,433 


Lunenburg . 


7 9 


16 


27 




275 


138 


10 


2640 


19 


111 




230 


6,707 


11,055 


Madison . . 


7 9 


13 


101 


24 


272 


33 


13 


149 


9 


48 


133 


397 


4,308 


8,107 


Mason . . 


8 9 


17 


70 


2 


299 




20 


9 




33 


8 


241 


808 


6,777 


Marshall . . 


5 7 


9 


83 


2 


146 


103 


30 






19 


13 


70 


46 


6,937 


Matthews 


4 2 


9 


9 




171 


54 


17 




25 


34 


35 


349 


3,309 


7,442 


Mecklenburg 1 


4 14 


32 


77 




472 


224 


25 


4124 


19 


303 


50 


520 


11,915 


20,724 


Mercer . . 


3 4 


5 


13 


5 


56 


28 


8 


3 




4 


65 


24 


98 


2,233 


Middlesex 


4 3 


7 


17 


1 


122 


21 


8 


1 


3 


26 


29 


202 


2,209 


4,392 


Monongalia • 1 


6 29 


20 


166 


6 


381 


320 


62 


15 




66 


43 


653 


260 


17,368 


Monroe . • 1 


2 20 


14 


68 


39 


209 


124 


23 






229 


65 


179 


868 


8.422 


Montgomery 1 


13 


17 


106 


21 


209 


114 


18 


241 




126 


59 


442 


1,473 


7,405 


Morgan . . 


3 4 


6 


38 


14 


63 


42 


17 


1 




44 


9 


347 


134 


4,253 


Nansemond . 


7 4 


23 


5 




316 


34 


80 




154 


157 


70 


424 


4,530 


10,795 


New Kent -- 


4 3 


9 


22 




140 


51 


8 




4 


21 




287 


3,385 


6,230 


Nicholas . . 


4 5 


5 


4 


3 


56 


38 


11 


4 




40 


7 


77 


72 


2,515 


Norfolk . . 


8 3 


19 


3 




260 


35 


35 




1 


1985 


250 


1085 


7,845 


21,092 


Northampton 


4 5 


12 


i 




297 


197 


52 




6 


39 


41 


186 


3,620 


7,715 


Northumberl'nd 


6 4 


12 


28 




179 


55 


20 




12 


56 


10 


180 


3,243 


7,924 


Nottoway 


6 7 


10 


42 




249 


70 


8 


2213 


21 


55 


49 


195 


7,071 


9,719 


Nelson . . 


8 8 


20 


128 


36 


327 


91 


19 


2229 


1 


258 


50 


345 


5,967 


12,287 


Ohio . . . 


4 27 


10 


125 


2 


254 


146 


43 






465 


520 


1089 


212 


13,357 


Orange . • 


7 11 


15 


98 


8 


395 


92 


21 


416 


2 


95 


115 


348 


5,364 


9,125 


Page . . . 


5 5 


13 


105 


30 


156 


29 


15 


7 




99 


87 


257 


781 


6,194 


Patrick . . 


7 6 


24 


28 


3 


223 


69 


13 


618 




21 


14 


120 


1,842 


8,032 


Pendleton . 1 


4 21 


13 


66 


36 


130 


51 


36 






63 


51 


235 


462 


6,940 


Pittsylvania . ] 


9 19 


42 


142 


6 


679 


334 


24 


6439 


18 


200 


222 


1012 


11,588 


26,398 


Pocahontas . 


7 10 


5 


18 


21 


41 


50 


21 






12 


28 


133 


219 


2,922 


Powhatan 


5 7 


9 


54 




189 


138 


7 


1850 




28 


43 


219 


5,129 


7,924 


Preston . . 


7 12 


9 


3 


18 


43 


130 


35 


4 




109 


45 




91 


6,866 


Prince Edward 


8 12 


15 


57 




304 


129 


13 


3107 


11 


124 


204 


517 


8,576 


14,069 


Princess Anne ] 


1 7 


21 


7 




299 


85 


37 




1 


2 


10 


238 


3,087 


7,285 


Prince William 


7 8 


9 


47 


4 


180 


105 


6 


5 




66 


22 


118 


2,767 


8,144 


Prince George 


3 3 


6 


31 




177 


35 


6 


115 


23 


5 


12 


117 


4,004 


7,175 


Pulaski . . 


7 10 


12 


46 


17 


144 


80 


15 






54 


32 


136 


954 


3,739 


Randolph . ' . 


14 


9 


27 


7 


151 


87 


30 


7 




65 


27 


108 


216 


6,208 


Rappahannock 


9 13 


18 


180 




310 


94 


24 


5 




93 


35 


502 


3,663 


9,257 


Roanoke . . 


5 6 


11 


141 


14 


182 


98 


6 


599 




47 


40 


196 


1,553 


5,449 


Rockbridge . 


3 20 


26 


264 


70 


505 


249 


36 


294 




169 


131 


883 


3,510 


14,284 


Rockingham . i 


>0 24 


39 


375 


91 


470 


248 


41 


37 




304 


174 


844 


1,899 


17,344 


Russell. . . ] 


4 15 


27 


59 


8 


294 


142 


21 






29 


29 


41 


700 


7,878 


Scott . . . 1 


14 


24 


40 


2 


294 


112 


17 


7 




31 


22 


206 


344 


7,303 


Shenandoah . 


1 12 


16 


164 


32 


298 


105 


35* 




186 


178 


355 


1,033 


11,618 


Smythe . . 


9 11 


16 


52 


7 


221 


178 


34 






■29 


8 


298 


838 


6,522 


Southampton 


LO 8 


44 


10 


3 


554 


71 


88 


25 


851 


56 


6 


449 


6,555 


14,525 


Spottsylvania 


8 8 


12 


58 




303 


102 


10 


353 


4 


395 


153 


649 


7,590 


15,161 


Stafford . . 


5 5 


9 


31 


4 


212 


68 


12 


34 


760 


18 


2 


195 


3,596 


8,454 


Surrey . . 


4 4 


13 


9 




185 


36 


34 


5 


64 


47 


7 


186 


2,853 


6,480 


Sussex . . 


9 8 


24 


19 




405 


104 




176 


477 


36 


6 


363 


6,384 


11,229 


Tazewell . . 


10 11 


15 


34 


13 


150 


126 


16 




45 


41 


11 




786 


6,290 


Tyler . . , 


6 12 


13 


53 


2 


223 


58 


35 


1 




29 


42 


416 


85 


6,954 


Warwick . . 


2 1 


4 


11 




46 


9 


2 




1 


63 


218 


52 


831 


1,456 


Warren . . 


5 7 


13 


148 


17 


219 


58 


16 






83 


115 


234 


1,434 


5,627 


Washington . 


1419 


32 


107 


g 


397 


296 


60 






304 


43 


551 


2,058 


13,001 


Westmoreland 


5 4 


[ 6 


6G 


1 


244 


28 


7 


1 


5 


67 


10 


163 


3,590 


8,019 


Wood . . . 


8 14 


U2 


71 




204 


85 


22 


87 




99 


17 


626 


624 


7,923 


Wythe . . 


14 18'23 


86 


47 


234 


152 


38 






173 


72 


309 


1,618 


9,375 


York ... 


1 




















170 




4,720 



ACCOM AC COUNTY. 163 



ACCOMAC COUNTY. 



This is the northernmost of the two counties forming the " east- 
ern shore of Virginia," which is cut off from the rest of the state 
by Chesapeake Bay. Accomac was formed from Northampton 
CO., in 1672. The term Accawmacke — as it was anciently spelt — 
is derived from a tribe of Indians who once inhabited this region. 
It is about 48 miles long, and 10 wide ; its surface is level, and the 
soil, though generally light, is in many parts fertile. It produces 
well, wheat, corn, cotton, oats, &c., and an abundance of table 
vegetables. Pop. 1830, 19,656; 1840, whites 9,518, slaves 4,630, 
free colored 2,848 ; total 17,096. 

Accomac C. H., or Drummondstown, in the heart of the county, 
212 miles e. of Richmond, contains about 40 dwellings. Horn- 
town, Modest-town, and Pungoteague, are small villages. 

Upon the Atlantic coast are numerous islands, stretching along 
the whole length of the " eastern shore." The two northernmost are 
Chincoteague and Assateague. The first is about 8 miles long, 
and contains nearly a hundred families. About one-third of their 
bread-corn is raised upon the island ; the sea and wrecks furnish 
the remainder of their subsistence. Assateague, though many 
times larger, has but few inhabitants, and is unfit for the cultiva- 
tion of corn. Its rich bent-growing lands are subject to inunda- 
tion from the spring tides. The scenery around Chincoteague is in 
many places inexpressibly sublime, and the view of the ocean and 
the surrounding cluster of islands, from the elevated sand-hills of 
Assateague, is enchanting. The Farmer's Register, from which 
this article is abridged, says that the Hebrides of Scotland, so pro- 
fitable to their proprietors, do not possess a hundredth part of the 
advantages of these Atlantic islands for all the purposes of com- 
fortable living and extensive stock-raising ; yet, for want of enter- 
prise, they are neglected. These islands are flat, sandy, and soft, 
producing abundance of excellent grass. 

Some thirty years since, an immense number of wild horses were raised upon these 
islands, with no other care than to brand and castrate the colts. Their winter subsist- 
ence was supplied abundantly by nature. The tall, heavy rich grass of the fiatlands 
affording them green food nearly the whole of the winter, the tops of which alone were 
killed by the frosts, mild as usual so near the ocean. It was customary to have annual 
gatherings in June, to drive these wild horses into pens, where they were seized by 
islanders accustomed to such adventures, who pushed fearlessly in among them. On 
being broken, taore docile and tractable animals could not be found. The horses have 
been gradually diminishing, until on one island they are nearly extinct, and the rustic 
splendor, the crowds, and the wild festivity of the Assateague horse-pennings, are 
among the things that were. 

The multitudes of both sexes that formerly attended these occasions of festal mirth 
were astonishing. The adjoining islands were literally emptied of their simple and 
frolic4oving inhabitants, and the peninsula itself contributed to swell the crowd. For 
fifty miles above and below the point of meeting, all the beauty and fashion of a certain 
order of the female population, who had funds or favorites to command a passage, were 
sure to be there. All who loved wild adventure, whose hearts danced at the prospect 
of a distant water excursion, and a scene of no ordinary revel, where the ocean rolled 
his billows almost to their feet ; all who had a new gown to show, or a pretty face to 
exhibit, who could danee well or sing ; belles that sighed for beaux, or beaux that wanted 



164 ALBEMARLE COUNTY. 

sweethearts ; all who loved to kiss or be kissed, to caress or be caressed ; all, in short, 
whose hearts delighted in romance without knowing its name, hurried away to this 
anxiously-expected scene of extravagant jollity, on the narrow thread of beach that the 
ocean seemed every moment to usurp. The imagination can scarcely conceive the ex- 
travagant enthusiasm with which this exciting sport was anticipated and enjoyed. It 
was a frantic carnival, without its debauchery. The young of both sexes had their 
imaginations inflamed by the poetical narratives of their mothers and maiden aunts, 
who in their more juvenile days were wont to grace those sylvan fetes of the mad flight 
of wild horses careering away along a narrow, naked, level sand-beach, at the top of 
their speed, with manes and tails waving in the wind, before a company of mounted men 
upon the fleetest steeds, shouting and hallooing in the wildest notes of triumph, and 
forcing the animals into the angular pen of pine logs prepared to enclose them. And 
then the deafening peals of loud huzzas from the thousand half-frenzied spectators, 
crowding into a solid mass around the enclosure, to behold the beautiful wild horse in 
all his native vigor, subdued by man, panting in the toils, and furious with heat, rage, 
and fright ; or hear the clamorous triumphs of the adventurous riders, each of whom 
had performed more than one miracle of equestrian skill on that day of glorious daring ; 
and the less discordant neighing of colts that had lost their mothers, and mothers that 
had lost their colts, in the melee of the sweeping drive, with the maddened snorts and 
whinnying of the whole gang — all, all together formed a scene of unrivalled noise, up- 
roar, and excitement, which few can imagine who had not witnessed it, and none can 
adequately describe. 

But the play of spirits ended not here. The booths were soon filled, and loads of sub- 
stantial provision were opened, and fish and water-fowl, secured for the occasion, were 
fried and barbecued by hundreds, for appetites whetted to marvellous keenness by early 
rising, a scanty breakfast, exercise, and sea air. The runlets of water, and the jugs of 
more exhilarating liquor, were lightened of their burdens. Then softer joys succeeded ; 
and music and dance, and love and courtship, held their undisputed empire until deep 
in the night, when all sought shelter and repose on board of their boats, moored by the 
shore, or among their island friends, who gladly entertained them with characteristic 
hospitality. Many a winter's evening tale did the incidents of those merry-making oc- 
casions supply, and many a peaceful young bosom, of retired rural beauty, was assailed 
with other emotions than the rough sports of an Assateague horse-penning inspired ; 
and from one anniversary of this half-savage festivity to another, all was talk of the joy 
and transports of the past, and anticipations of the future. 



ALBEMARLE. 

Albemarle was formed, in 1744, from Goochland. Its length, 
from sw. to ne., is 35 miles, and its mean width 20 miles. The 
northern part is drained by the Rivanna and its branches ; the 
southern by the Hardware and its branches. The surface is gener- 
ally hilly or mountainous, the scenery picturesque, and much of 
the soil highly productive in corn and tobacco. Pop. 1830, 22,618 ; 
1840, whites 10,512, slaves 13,809; total 22,924. 

Scottsville is on the n. bank of the James River canal, 20 miles 
from Charlottesville, and 79 from Richmond. It is the largest and 
most flourishing village on the canal, between Richmond and 
Lynchburg, and does a heavy business ; it contains 1 Presbyte- 
rian, 1 Methodist, and 1 Reformed Baptist church, and about 160 
houses. 

Charlottesville, the county seat, is 121 miles from Washington 
City, and 85 northwesterly from Richmond. It is beautifully situated 
in a fertile and well-watered valley, on the right bank of the Ri- 
vanna River. It contains many mercantile and mechanical estab- 



ALBEMARLE COUNTY. 165 

lishments, and has greatly improved within the last few years. 
The religious societies are Episcopal, Presbyterian, Baptist, and 
Methodist. The population is not far from 2000 : much of the 
society of the town and county is highly refined. Albemarle has 
given birth to several eminent men : among whom may be men- 
tioned Jefferson, the late Gov. Gilmer, Dr. Gilmer, author of 
" Sketches and Essays of Public Characters," Meriwether Lewis, 
and others. 

The University op Virginia is one mile west of Charlottesville, 
and although of a deservedly high reputation, it is an institution 
of recent origin. The legislature of the state, at the session of 
1817-18, adopted measures for establishing the university, which, 
however, did not go into operation until 1825. The institution 
was erected and endowed by the state ; and it owes its origin and 
peculiar organization to Mr. Jefferson. It has a fine collection of 
buildings, consisting of four parallel ranges about 600 feet in 
length, and 200 feet apart, suited to the accommodation of 9 pro- 
fessorships, and upwards of 200 students ; which, together with 
the real estate, cost over $300,000. It possesses valuable libraries, 
amounting to 16,000 vols., and is amply provided with philosophi- 
cal and chemical apparatus, together with a fine cabinet of min- 
erals and fossils, and an anatomical and miscellaneous museum. 
The observatory, a short distance from the university, is furnished 
with the requisite astronomical instruments. " The plan of the uni- 
versity differs materially from that of other institutions in the 
Union. The students are not divided into four classes, with a 
course of studies embracing four years ; but the different branches 
are styled schools, and the student is at liberty to attend which he 
pleases, and graduate in each when prepared. In order to attain 
the title of " Master of Arts of the University of Virginia," the 
student must graduate in the several schools of mathematics, 
ancient languages, moral philosophy, natural philosophy, chemistry, 
and in some two of the modern languages. The chairman of the 
faculty is annually chosen from the faculty, by the board of visit- 
ors. This board is appointed by the governor and council every 
four years, and chooses its own rector. This institution is, in 
every respect, organized and justly regarded as an university of 
the first class. The number of students, including the law and 
medical departments, is not far from 200." 

The British and German prisoners taken at Saratoga, in the 
revolution, and known as the " Convention troops^ were sent to 
Charlottesville in the beginning of the year 1779. On their first 
arrival a momentary embarrassment was felt for the want of ne- 
cessary accommodations. A British officer by the name of Anbu- 
ry, whose travels have been published, was among the prisoners. 
On this point he says : 

But on oxiT arrival at Charlottesville, no pen can describe the scene of miseiy and confusion that en- 
sued; the officers of the first and second brigodes were in the town, and our arrival added to their dis- 
tress ; this famous place we had heard so much of, consisted only of a court-house, one tavern, and 



166 ALBEMARLE COUNTY. 

about a dozen houses ; all of which were crowded with officers, — those of our brigade, therefore, were 
obliged to ride about the country, and entreat the inhabitants to take us in. As to the men, the situation 
was truly horrible, after the hard shifts they had experienced in their march from the Potomack ; they 
were, instead of comfortable barracks, conducted into a wood, where a few log huts were just begun to 
be built, the most part not covered over, and all of them full of snow; these the men were obliged to 
clear out, and cover over to secure themselves from the inclemency of the weather, as quick as they 
could, and in the course of two or three days, rendered them a habitable, but by no means a comfortable 
retirement. What added greatly to the distresses of the men, was the want of provisions, as none had 
as yet arrived for the troops, and for six days they subsisted on the meal of Indian corn made into cakes. 
The person who had the management of every thing, informed us that we were not expected till 
spring. Never was a country so destitute of every comfort ; provisions were not to be purchased for ten 
days : the officers subsisted upon salt pork and Indian corn made into cakes ; not a drop of any kind of 
spirit, what little there had been, was already consumed by the first and second brigades ; many officers, 
to comfort themselves, put red pepper into water, to drink by way of cordial. 

Upon a representation of our situation, by Brigadier-General Hamilton, to Colonel Bland, who com- 
manded the American troops, he promised to render the situation of the men as comfortable as possible, 
and with all expedition. As to the officers, upon signing a parole, they might go to Richmond, and other 
adjacent towns, to procure themselves quarters ; accordingly, a parole was signed, which allowed a cir- 
cuit of near one hundred miles. And after the officers had drawn lots, as three were to remain in the 
barracks with the men, or at Charlottesville, the principal part of them set off for Richmond, many of 
them are at plantations, twenty or thirty miles from the barracks. I am quartered with Major Master 
and four other officers of our regiment, at this plantation, about twenty miles from the barracks ; the 
owner has given up his house, and gone to reside at his overseer's, and for the use of his house, we pay 
him two guineas a week. On the arrival of the troops at Charlottesville, the officers, what with vexa- 
tion, and to keep out the cold, drank rather freely of an abominable liquor, called peach brandy, which, 
if drunk to excess, the fumes raise an absolute delirium, and in their cups, several were guilty of deeds 
that would admit of no apology ; the inhabitants must have actually thought us mad, for in the course 
of three or four days, there were no less than six or seven duels fought. 

The Baroness de Riedesel was also with the convention troops. 
This gifted and heroic lady, also says, in her memoirs : 

At first they suffered many privations ; they were billeted in block-houses without windows or doors, 
and but poorly defended from the cold. But they went diligently to work to construct better dwellings, 
and in a short time the place assumed the appearance of a neat little town. In the rear of each house 
they had trim gardens, and enclosed places for poultry. Afterwards, when the old provisions were con- 
sumed, they received fresh meat, and flour to make bread ; and as this latter was of wheat, they could 
even make cakes and pies. They wanted nothing but money, of which the English sent but little ; and 
as it was difficult to purchase any thing on credit, the soldiers were in many perplexities on that ac- 
count. 

Mr. Jefferson, who then resided in the vicinity, did his utmost to 
render the situation of the troops and officers as pleasant as possi- 
ble. To the latter, he offered the hospitalities of his mansion, 
threw open his library for their inspection, and contributed, by 
neighborly intercourse and attention, to render them happy. His 
efforts in their behalf called forth the strongest expressions of 
gratitude and esteem. These troops remained here until October, 
1780, when the state being invaded by Leslie, the public safety de- 
manded the removal of the British portion of them to Fort Fred- 
erick, in Maryland. The Germans, however, continued longer. 

In May, 1781, when Cornwallis invaded Virginia, the legisla- 
ture adjourned from Richmond to Charlottesville, as a place of 
greater safety. In June, the celebrated partisan officer, Tarleton, 
was detached to Charlottesville, with 180 cavalry of his legion, 
and 70 mounted infantry, with directions to surprise the General 
Assembly, seize the person of Jefferson, then the governor, and to 
do other mischief. He was then to join Simcoe, who had been 
detached to the Point of Fork, in Fluvanna county. The subjoin- 
ed details of this event, are from Tuckers Life of JefTeifson : 

A gentleman who was in the neig-hborhood of the British army, and who suspected 
Tarleton's objec*^, was able, by means of a fleet horse, and a nearer road, to give two 
hours notice of iiis approach.* As it was, all the members of the Assembly, except 

* Another incident contributed to defeat Colonel Tarleton's purpose. The following 



ALBEMARLE COUNTY. 167 

seven, effected their escape, and reassembled on the 7th of June, at Staunton, about 
forty miles west of Charlottesville. Tarleton, hearing that there were many gentlemen 
of the lower country then at the houses of Dr. Walker, and Mr. John Walker, which 
lay near his route, for a moment lost sight of his principal object, and resolved to make 
them prisoners. He accordingly divided his force, and sent a part to Mr. John Walk- 
er's, while he himself stopped at the house of Dr. Walker. Several gentlemen were here 
made captives. 

When Tarleton approached within ten miles of Charlottesville, he detached a party of 
horse, under captain M'Leod, to Monticello, to seize Mr. Jefferson. But he had, about 
sunrise, received the intelligence of Tarleton's approach. Several members of the legis- 
lature, including the speakers of both houses, were then his guests, and they hastened ^ 
to Charlottesville, to adjourn the legislature. Mrs. Jefferson and her three children \ 
hurried off in a carriage to Colonel Edward Carter's, about six miles to the south. Mr. . 
Jefferson followed afterwards on horseback, and had not left his house ten minutes be- 
fore the British entered it. His property, books, and papers, were all respected, with the 
exception of the waste which was committed in his cellars, by a few of the men, with- 
out the knowledge of the commanding officer. Tarleton entered Charlottesville on the 
4th of June, four days after Mr. Jefferson's term of office expired, lie, on the next day, 
rejoined Lord Cornwallis, who had established his head-quarters at Elk Hill, a planta- 
tion near the Point of Fork, belonging to Mr. Jefferson. Here every sort of wanton 
mischief was perpetrated. Besides making a free use of the cattle, and carrying off all 
the horses fit for service, as was to be expected, the throats of the young horses were 
cut, the growing crops of corn and tobacco were destroyed ; those of the preceding year, 
together with the barns which contained them, and all the fences on the plantation were 
burnt. Other plantations shared a similar fate, though not to the same extent. Thirty 
thousand slaves were taken from Virginia by the British in these invasions, of whom 
Iwenty-seven thousand were computed to have died of the small-pox, or camp fever. 
The whole amount of property carried off, and destroyed, during the six luonths prece- 
ding CornwalHs's surrender, has been estimated at ;£3,000,000 sterling. 



Monticello,* the seat of Thomas Jefferson, is three miles south- 
east of Charlottesville. The annexed glowing description, is from 
Wirt's Eulogy upon Adams and Jefferson : 

The Mansion House, at Monticello, was built and furnished in the days of his prosperity. In its di- 
mensions, its architecture, its arrangements and o.iiaments, it is such a one as became the character and 
fortune of the man. It stands upon an elliptic plain, formed by cutting down the apex of a mountain , 
and, to the west, stretching away to the north and the south, it commands a view of the Blue Ridge for 
a hundred and fifty miles, and brings under the eye one of the boldest and most beautiful horizons in the 
world ; while on the east, it presents an extent of prospect boxmded only by the spherical form of the 
earth, in which nature seems to sleep in eternal repose, as if to form one of her finest contrasts with the 
rude and rolling grandeur of the west. In the wide prospect, and scattered to the north and south, are 
several detached mountains, which contribute to animate and diversify this enchanting landscape ; and 
among them, to the south Willis's mountain, which is so interestingly depicted in his Notes. From this 
summit, the philosopher was wont to enjoy that spectacle, among the sublimest of Nature's operations, 
the looming of the distant mountains ; and to watch the motions of the planets, and the greater revolu- 
tion of the celestial sphere. From this summit, too, the patriot could look down with uninterrupted vis- 
ion, upon the wide expanf:e of the world around, for which he considered himself born ; and upward to 
the open and vaulted heavens, which he seemed to approach, as if to keep him continually in mind of 
his high responsibility. It is indeed a prospect in which you see and feel, at once, that notliiiij mean or 
little could live. It is a scene fit to nourish those great and high-souled principles which fonnei) the ele- 
ments of his character, and was a most noble and appropriate post for such a sentinel, over the rights 
and liberties of men. 

Approaching the house on the east, the visiter instinctively paused to cast around one thrilling glance 
at this magnificent panorama ; and then passed to the vestibule, where, if he had not been previously 

facts are stated on the authority of a gentleman who received them from Dr. Walker 
himself: On Tarleton's arrival at his house, he had ordered breakfast to be prepared 
for the colonel and the officers ; but the operations of the cook appearing to be unusu- 
ally tardy, and his guest manifesting great impatience, he went to the kitchen himself to 
inquire the cause of the delay ; and was there told by the cook that he was then engaged 
in preparing the third breakfast, the two first having been taken from him by some of 
Colonel Tarleton's men ; on which the doctor told his guest, that if he wished for break- 
fast, he must place a guard of soldiers to protect the cook, which was accordingly done. 
The time that was thus lost, it appeared, on comparing notes afterwards, saved the del- 
egates from capture. 

* Monticello, in Italian, signifies " Little Mountain." 



168 



ALBEMARLE COUNTY. 



informed, he would immediately perceive that he was entering the house of no common man. In tho 
spacious and lofty hall which opens before him, he marks no tawdry and unmeaning ornaments : but be- 
fore, on the right, on the left, all around, the eye is struck and gratified by objects of science and taste, 
so classed and arranged, as to produce their finest effect. On one side, specimens of sculpture set out in 
such order as to exhibit, at a coup d'oeil, the historical progress of that art, from the first rude attempts 
of the aborigines of our country, up to that exquisite and finished bust of the great patriot himself from 
the master hand of Carracci. On the other side the visiter sees displayed a vast collection of specimens 
of the Indian art, their paintings, weapons, ornaments, and manufactures ; on another an array of the 
fossil productions of our countrj^, mineral and animal ; the polished remains of those colossal monsters 
that once trod our forests, and are no more ; and a variegated display of the branching honors of those 
"monarchs of the waste," that still people the wilds of the American continent. 




MonticeUo, ihe seat ^/" Thomas Jefferson. 

From this hall he was ushered into a noble saloon, from which the glorious landscape of the west 
again bursts upon his view ; and which, within, is hung thick around with the finest productions of the 
pencil — historical paintings of the most striking subjects, from all countries, and all ages ; the portraits 
of distinguished men and ] atriots, both of Europe and America, and medallions, and engravings in end- 
less profusion. 

While the visiter was yet lost in the contemplation of these treasures of the arts and sciences, he was 
startled by the approach of a strong and sprightly step, and turning with instinctive reverence to the door 
of entrance, he was met by the tall, and animated, and stately figure of the patriot himself— his counte- 
nance beaming with intelligence and benignity, and his outstretched hand, with iti strong and cordial 
pressiu-e, confirming the courteous welcome of his lips. And then came the chaim of manner and con- 
versation that passes all description — so cheerful — so unassuming — so free, and easy, and frank, and 
kind, and gay,— that even the young and overawed, and embarrassed visiter forgets his fears, and felt 
himself by the side of an old and familiar friend. 




The subjoined memoir of the author of the Declaration of American Independence 
is abridged principally from the American Portrait-Gallery. 

Thomas Jefferson was born 
at Shadwej], in this county, 
April 2d, 1743. His ancestors 
were among the early settlers 
of Virginia, and his father, 
Peter JeiTerson, was an in- 
>fluential public man, who, at 
his death, left his son an am- 
ple fortune. Jefferson passed 
through his collegiate course 
at William and Mary, with distinction, and became a student of law under the celebrated 
George Wythe. When of age, he was admitted to the bar, and was soon elected a 
representive from Albemarle to the legislature. From youth his mind was imbued with 
the most liberal political sentiments. On one of his seals, about this time, was engraved 
the motto, " Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." These feelings strengthened 
with the position of pubhc affairs. 

In 1772 ho married Miss Wayles, an amiable and accomplished lady. She died in 
about ten years, leaving two infant daughters. In 1773, Jefferson devised and arranged 



Facsimile of Thomas Jeffersori's Signature. 



ALBEMARLE COUNTY. 169 

the first organized system of colonial resistance, which was the formation of committees 
of correspondence in the different provinces. Its adoption was strikingly beneficial. 
As the crisis of public affairs approached, not content with his constant labors as a 
member of the legislature, he wrote and published " A Summary View of the Rights of 
British America." For this publication Lord Dunmore threatened to prosecute him on 
a charge of high treason, and dissolved the legislature who had sustained the same 
doctrines. When the conciliatory propositions of the British ministry were sent out in 
the following year, the committee of the legislature presented a reply from the pen of 
Jefftsrson, which has ever been considered a state paper of the highest order. In June, 
1775, he took his seat as a delegate to the General Congress. In the succeeding sum- 
mer, Jefferson was chairman of the committee, and drew up the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, which, after a few alterations, was adopted by Congress, July 4th, 1776. 
In the autumn of this year, he was appointed one of the commissioners to the court of 
France ; but ill-health, and considerations of a public nature, prevented his acceptance. 
He shortly after resigned his seat in Congress, and being elected to the first legislature 
under tlie new constitution of Virginia, he introduced, and, with the aid of able coadju- 
tors, carried through important laws, founded on just and great principles of the social 
compact. The first of these was a bill preventing the importation of slaves ; this he 
followed up by destroying entails and abolishing the rights of primogeniture, the over- 
throw of the church establishment, which had been introduced in imitation of that of 
England. Besides these, he reduced to a system the various irregular enactments of 
the colonial government and mother country. It was a most severe labor. It consisted 
of 126 bills, comprising and remodelling the whole statutory law ; and though not all 
enacted as he contemplated, they have formed the admirable basis of the jurisprudence 
of Virginia. 

In June, 1779, he was elected governor of Virginia, and re-elected the next year. 
It was a season of imminent peril ; the state was invaded by Tarleton and Arnold, and 
he himself made the object of particular pursuit. At the expiration of his term, the 
legislature passed a unanimous resolution expressive of their high opinion of his ability 
and integrity. In June, 1783, he was again elected to Congress, and there prepared the 
beautiful address, made by Congress to Washington, on taking leave of public life. He 
was, also, the chairman of a committee appointed to form a plan for temporary govern- 
ment in the vast and then unsettled western territory. He introduced a clause for- 
bidding the existence of slavery in it after the year 1800. In the summer of 1784, he 
was sent as a minister plenipotentiary to France. He remained in Europe until Nov., 
1789, during which time he visited England, and, in concert with Mr. Adams, ineffec- 
tually endeavored to effect a commercial treaty with Britain. While in France, he was 
engaged in many diplomatic negotiations of considerable importance to his country. 
Among men of letters, and high political distinction, he was received with marked kind- 
ness, and he graced the most brilhant social circles of Paris. When he returned to the 
United States, he occupied the office of secretary of state under Washington, instead 
of resuming, as he had intended, the post of minister to France. Of the great mass of 
the constitution, which had been formed during his absence, he approved, though there 
were points in it, in which he thought there was no adequate security for political rights. 
In its practical interpretations, he adopted the more popular view ; and he became the 
head of the party which sustained it. While in the department of state, he laid down 
the great, and ever since approved, maxims relative to our foreign intercourse. Among 
other negotiations, he became especially engaged in one with the ministers from the 
French republic, which seriously involved the political rights of the United States as a 
neutral nation, and led to the adoption of that policy of preserving peace, commerce, 
and friendship with all nations, but entering into entangling alliances with none. His 
report on an uniform system of currency, weights, and measures, was one of those 
measures of domestic policy appropriate to his office, and is said to have abounded with 
the most enlightened views. He also presented to Congress a valuable memoir on the 
subject of the cod and whale fisheries. His last act as secretary of state, was a report on 
the nature and extent of the privileges and restrictions of the commercial intercourse 
of the United States with other countries, and on the best means of counteracting them. 
It attracted much attention, and was a document of great ability. It was the founda- 
tion of a series of resolutions proposed by Mr. Madison, sanctioning the views it em- 
braced, and it became, in fact, the ostensible subject on which the federal and republican 
parties distinctly arrayed themselves against each other. 

In Dec, 1793, Jefferson resigned his office and retired to Monticello. The Duke de 
Liancourt, a French traveller, has given in his work a pleasing narrative of the manner 
in which the fife of tb.e retired statesman was passed. " His conversation," he s?/s, 

22 



170 ALBEMARLE COUNTY. 

" is of the most agreeable kind, and he possesses a stock of information not inferior to any 
other man. In Europe he would hold a distinguished rank among men of letters, and 
as such he has already appeared there. At present, he is employed with activity and 
perseverance in the management of his farms and buildings ; and he orders, directs, and 
pursues, in the minutest detail, every branch of business relating to them. I found him 
in the midst of harvest, from which the scorching heat of the sun does not prevent his 
attendance. His negroes are nourished, clothed, and treated as well as white servants 
could be. Every article is made on his farm ; his negroes being cabinet-makers, car- 
penters, and masons. The children he employs in a nail factory ; and the young and 
old negresses spin for the clothing of the rest. He animates them all by rewards and 
distinctions. In fine, his superior mind directs the management of his domestic con- 
cerns with the same abilities, activity, and regularity, which he evinced in the conduct 
of public affairs, and which he is calculated to display in every situation of life." It 
was at this period of retirement that ho was unanimously elected president of the 
American Philosophical Society. 

Jefferson was not, however, long permitted to enjoy the tranquillity of private life. 
On the retirement of Washington from the presidency, Mr. Jefferson was selected by the 
democratic party as their candidate for that office, and Mr. Adams by the federal party. 
The highest number of votes appearing for the latter, he was declared president and 
Jefferson vice-president. For the succeeding four years most of his time was passed 
tranquilly at Monticello. When the period for another election arrived he was again 
a candidate for the presidential chair. On canvassing the votes of the electors, it was 
found that Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Burr had each seventy-three votes, Mr. Adams sixty-' 
five, and C. C. Pinckney sixty-four. As the constitution provided that the person 
having the greatest number of votes should be president, and Mr. Jefferson and Mr. 
Burr, having an equal number, it became the duty of the House of Representatives, voting 
by states, to decide between these two gentlemen. The ballot was taken several days 
in succession. The federal party, generally, supported Mr. Burr ; the democratic party 
Mr. Jefferson. On the thirty-sixth ballot Mr. Jefferson was elected president, and Mr. 
■ Burr vice-president. 

On the 4th of March, 1801, Mr. Jefferson entered on his first presidential term. In 
his inaugural address, he stated, with great eloquence of language and admirable 
clearness and precision, the political principles by which he intended to be governed in 
the administration of public affairs. 

His administration embraces a long and interesting period in the history of our coun- 
try, and measures of lasting importance were carried through. The aggressions of the 
Tripolitans were promptly chastised ; the encroachments of the agents of the Spanish 
government to deprive us of the right of navigating the Mississippi, were repelled ; 
Louisiana was purchased ; the internal policy of the Union underwent important 
changes ; measures were adopted for the speedy discharge of the public debt ; the judi- 
ciary was restored to the original plan ; strict economy was observed in carrying on the 
government, and useless offices suppressed. 

So much was his administration approved, that when his term of service expired, he 
was again elected by a very large majority. He had scarcely entered on his office when 
the conspiracy of Burr was discovered. The foreign relations of the Union, however, 
assumed an importance exceeding all domestic affairs. The aggressions of Great Britain 
and France upon our commerce left no honorable course but that of retaliation. On 
the 22d of December, 1807, the Embargo Act was passed, on the recommendation of 
Mr.' Jefferson. In January, 1809, overtures were made by the British government in- 
dicative of a disposition to recede from the ground they had assumed ; and these were 
preceded by a repeal of their most objectionable measures. In this situation were the 
foreign relations of the United States when Mr. Jefferson's second term of office expired, 
on the 3d of March, 1809, and his political career closed. 

He had been engaged, almost without interruption, for forty years, in the most ardu- 
ous public duties. From this time, until his death, he resided at Monticello. His home 
was the abode of hospitality, and the seat of* dignified retirement ; he forgot the busy 
times of his political existence, in the calm and congenial pleasures of science, and his 
mind, clear and penetrating, wandered with fresh activity and delight through all the 
regions of thought. Among the plans for the public welfare in which he was engaged, 
the establishment of the University of Virginia was with him a favorite scheme. The 
legislature approved of his plan, and appointed him rector. Until the time of his death, 
his most cherished hopes and endeavors were for its success. 

Mr. Jefferson died July 4th, 1826, at the age of 83 years. His family and servants 
were called around his dying bed. After declaring himself gratified by their affectionate 



ALBEMARLE COUNTY, 171 

solicitude, and having distinctly articulated these words, " I resign myself to my God, 
and my child to my country," he expired without a groan. 

The neighborhood of Monticello affords innumerable monuments of the benevolence 
and liberality of Mr. Jefferson ; and on his own estate, such was the condition of his 
slaves, that in their comfort, his own interest was too often entirely forgotten. His at- 
tachment to his friends was unvarying, and few public men have had warmer. His do- 
mestic habits were simple, his application was excessive, and he conducted all his bu- 
siness with great exactness and method. His correspondence was wonderfully exten- 
sive. 

In person, Mr. Jefferson was six feet two inches in height, erect and well formed, 
though thin ; his eyes were light, and full of intelligence ; his hair, originally of a yel- 
lowish red, was in his latter years silvered with age ; his complexion was fair, his fore- 
head broad, and the whole face square and expressive of deep thinking ; his countenance 
was remarkably intelligent, and open as day, its general expression full of good will and 
kindness, and when the occasion excited it, beaming with entliuslasm ; his address was 
cordial, confirming the good will of his lips ; his motions were flexible and easy, his step 
firm and sprightly ; and such were his strength and agility, that he was accustomed in 
the society of children, of which he was fond, to practise feats that few could imitate. 
His manner was simple, mingled with native dignity, but cheerful, unassuming, frank, 
and kind; his language was remarkable for vivacity and correctness ; and in his con- 
versation, which was without apparent effort, he poured forth knowledge, the most va- 
rious, from an exhaustless fountain, yet so modestly and engagingly that he seemed 
rather to seek than to impart information. 

He hes burled in a small burying, near the road, which winds around it to Monti- 
cello. It has a slight enclosure, and is surrounded by the native wood. In it lie the 
remains of members of the family, some two or three of whom have tablets of marble. 
On his own grave, his executor has erected a granite obelisk, eight feet high, and on a 
piece of marble, inserted on Its southern face, are inscribed the three acts for which he 
thought he best deserved to be remembered by posterity. This inscription was found 
among his papers after his death, in his own handwriting, and it is in these words : 



HERE LIES BURIED 

THOMAS JEFFERSON, 

Author of the Declaration of American Independence, 

Of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, 

And Father of the University of Virginia. 



" Mr. Jefferson's religious creed," says Tucker, " as described in his correspondence, 
cannot perhaps be classed with that of any particular sect, but was nearer the Socinian 
than any other. In the last years of his life, when questioned by any friends on this 
subject, he used to say he was a Unitarian." 

Meriwether Lewis, the son of a wealthy farmer, was born near Charlottesville, in 
1774. At 18 years of age, he relinquished his academic studies and engaged in agricul- 
ture. Two years after, he acted as a volunteer, to suppress the whiskey insurrection, 
from which situation he was removed to the regular service. From about 1801 to 1803, 
he was the private secretary of Mr. Jefferson, when he, with Wm. Clarke, went in their 
celebrated exploring expedition to the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Jefferson, in recommend- 
ing him to this duty, gave him a high character, as possessing courage, inflexible perse- 
verance, intimate knowledge of the Indian character, fidelity, intelligence, and all those 
peculiar combinations of qualities that eminently fitted him for so arduous an underta- 
king. They were absent three years, and were highly successful in the accomplishment 
of their duties. When, shortly after his return, in 1806, he was appointed governor of 
the territory of Louisiana, and finding it the seat of internal dissensions, he by his moder- 
ation, firmness, and impartiality, brought matters into a systematic train. He was sub- 
ject to constitutional hypochondria, and while under the influence of a severe attack shot 
himself on the borders of Tennessee, in 1809, at the age of 35. This event was ascribed 
to the protest of some bills, which he drew on the public account. The account of his 
expedition, which he wrote, was pubUshed in 1814. The mother of Mr. Lewis died in 
this county, only a few years since. She possessed very strong powers of mind. 

William Wirt, the distinguished author of the British Spy, who was born at Bladens. 
burg, for a time resided in this county. In 1792, when 20 years of age, he commenced 
llie practice of law at Fairfax, in the neighboring county of Culpeper. 



172 ALLEGHANY COUNTY. 

" In 1795, he married the eldest daughter of Dr. George Gilmer, a distinguished physi- 
cian, and took up his residence at Pen Park, the seat of his father-in-law, near Char- 
lottesville ; and here he was introduced to the acquaintance of Jefferson, Madison, 
Monroe, and other persons of celebrity. 

" In 1799 his wife died, and he was soon after elected clerk of the House of Delegates. 
Having performed the duties of his office two years, he was in 1802 appointed chancellor of 
the Eastern District of Virginia, and then took up his residence at Williamsburg ; and the 
same year he married the daughter of Col. Gamble, of Richmond. He soon after resigned 
his chancellorship, and at the close of the year 1803 removed to Norfolk, and entered 
upon the assiduous practice of his profession. Just before he removed to Norfolk, he 
wrote the letters published in the Richmond Argus, under the title of ' the British Spy,' 
which were afterwards collected in a small volume, and have passed through many 
editions. In 1806 he took up his residence in Richmond, and in the following year he 
greatly distinguished himself in the trial of Col. Burr. In 1812 he wrote the greater 
part of a series of essays, which were originally published in the Richmond Enquirer, 
under the title of ' The Old Bachelor,' and have since, in a collected form, passed through 
several editions. The ' Life of Patrick Henry,' his largest literary production, was first 
published in 1817. In 1816 he was appointed, by Mr. Madison, the U. S. Attorney for 
Virginia; and in 1817, by Mr. Monroe, attorney-general of the United States, a post 
which he occupied with distinguished reputation until 1829, through the entire adminis- 
trations of Monroe and Adams. In 1830, he took up his residence in Baltimore for the 
remainder of his life. He died Feb. 18th, 1834, at Washington City, in his 62d year. 
As a public and professional man, Mr. Wirt ranked among the first of his time ; and in 
all the relations of private life, as a man and a Christian, he was most exemplary, and 
was regarded with singular affection and veneration." 



ALLEGHANY. 

Alleghany was formed in 1822, from Bath, Bottetourt, and 
Monroe. Its mean length is twenty-six, mean breadth twenty 
miles. Most of this county is a high momitain valley, drained by 
the head waters of the James. The main Alleghany chain forms 
its boundary on the west ; Peter's mountain and Warm Spring 
mountain divide the county into two nearly equal parts, having only 
a narrow gap at Covington, and Middle Mountain and Rich Patch 
form its southeastern boundary. The passage of Jackson's River 
through Waite's mountain, is a sublime feature of the natural 
scenery of the county. Population in 1830, 2,816 ; 1840, whites 
2,142, slaves 547, free colored 60 ; total, 2,749. 

Covington, the county-seat, lies one hundred and ninety-six miles 
west of Richmond, at the head of the James River navigation, on 
Jackson's River, fifteen above its confluence with the Cow-Pasture, 
both of which by their union constitute the James. It contains, at 
present, about fifty dwellings. At some future period, it is con- 
templated that the James River Canal will be continued to here ; 
in which case, it will be the depot between the land and water 
communication in the chain of the James River and Kanawha 
improvements, and will then command the trade of a large and 
fertile region of country. Near Covington, a fort, called Fort 
Young, was built in the early settlement of the country, as a pro- 
tection against the Indians. 

Peter's Mountain derived its name from Peter Wright, a famous hunter at the time 
of the first settlement, who was accustomed to hunt upon it. He resided near the 



AMELIA COUNTY. 173 

present site of Covington. Near the house of Mr. John Lewis, there is, on the roadside, 
a large shelving rock, called Peter's Rock, where, says tradition, he sought shelter in a 
snow storm. There he lay for several days, until the snow was four feet deep, when he 
was obliged to eat his moccasins to prevent starving. He at length discovered and 
shot a deer, which furnished him with food. He left, at his death, two sons, both of 
whom emigrated to the west many years since. 

There was an eccentric female, who lived in this section of the country towards the 
latter part of the last century. Her name was Ann Bailey. She was born in Liver- 
pool, and had been the wife of an English soldier. She generally went by the cogno- 
men of Mad Ann. During the wars with the Indians, she very often acted as a 
messenger, and conveyed letters from the fort, at Covington, to Point Pleasant. On 
these occasions she was mounted on a favorite horse of great sagacity, and rode like a 
man, with a rifle over her shoulder, and a tomahawk and a butcher's-knife in her belt. 
At night she slept in the woods. Her custom was to let her horse go free, and then 
walk some distance back on his trail, to escape being discovered by the Indians. After 
the Indian wars she spent some time in hunting. She pursued and shot deer and bears 
with the skill of a backwoodsman. She was a short, stout woman, very masculine and 
coarse in her appearance, and seldom or never wore a gown, but usually had on a petti- 
coat, with a man's coat over it, and buckskin breeches. The services she rendered in 
the wars with the Indians, endeared her to the people. Mad Ann, and her black pony 
Liverpool, were always welcome at every house. Often, she gathered the honest, sim- 
ple-hearted mountaineers around, and related her adventures and trials, while the 
sympathetic tear would course down their cheeks. She was profane, often became in- 
toxicated, and could box with the skill of one of the fancy. Mad Ann possessed 
considerable intelligence, and could read and write. She died in Ohio many years since, 
i In 1764, a party of about fifty Indians came into this region, and then dividing into 
two, one went towards the Roanoke and Catawba settlements, and the other in the direc 
tion of Jackson's River, where each committed murders and depredations. Captain 
Paul, who commanded at Fort Dinwiddle, went in pursuit of the latter party, and acci- 
dentally came upon the other, about midnight, encamped on New River, at the mouth 
of Indian Creek. In an instant after firing upon them. Captain Paul and his men 
rushed forward to secure the wounded and prevent further escapes, as most of them had 
ran. One of the party raised his tomahawk to strike, as he supposed, a squaw, who sat 
composedly awaiting the result. As the tomahawk was descending, Captain Paul 
threw himself between the assailant and his victim, and received the blow on his arm, 
exclaiming : " It is a shame to hurt a woman, even a squaw !" She proved to be Mrs. 
Catharine Gunn, an English woman, an acquaintance of Captain Paul, taken prisoner 
on the Catawba a few days before, when her husband and two children were killed. On 
being asked why she had not made known she was a prisoner, by crying out, she re- 
plied : "I had as soon "be killed as not — my husband is murdered — my children are 
slain — my parents are dead. I have not a relation in America — every thing dear to me 
here is gone — I have no wishes, no hopes, no fears — I would not have risen to my feet 
to have saved my life." 



AMELIA. 

Amelia was formed in 1734, from part of Prince George. Its 
length is about 30, mean breadth 10 miles. It is drained by the 
Appomattox. The surface is agreeably diversified ; the soil on the 
hills poor and usually much worn, on the bottoms fertile, and it 
has generally much deteriorated from its original fertility, owing 
to the injudicious modes of cultivation pursued by its early set- 
tlers. Pop. 1830, 11,031; in 1840, whites 3,074, slaves 7,023, 
free colored, 223 ; total, 10,320. 

There are no villages in the county of any note. Amelia C. H., 
which is centrally situated, 45 miles sw. of Richmond, contains 
but a few dwellings. 

William Archer, Col.-commandant of the county, made himself so conspicuous by 
his zeal in the revolutionary cause, that he was made prisoner by Tarleton, on his retura 



174 



AMELIA COUNTY. 



from his excursion to New London. He was conveyed to one of the prison-ships at Nor- 
folk, so well known for the suiferings of which they were the scenes. There he was re- 
tained until he became a victim of the small-pox. He was finally permitted to land, 
but in so advanced a stage of the disease that he died in a few days, without restora- 
tion to his family. One of his sons, Lieut. Joseph Archer, was killed at the battle of 
Brandywine. Another of his sons, Major John Archer — the father of the present mem- 
ber of the U. S. Senate, the Hon. Wm. S. Archer — was an aid to one of the American 
generals. He was sent to remove public stores, when a detachment from the army of 
Lord Cornwallis made the celebrated dash on Charlottesville. Delaying too long in the 
discharge of his duty, he was overtaken in the rapid advance of the enemy. The Eng- 
lish officer to whom he surrendered his sword, received and passed it entirely through his 
body. The speedy retreat of the enemy permitting immediate assistance, he had the 
good fortune to recover, and lived many years. 

Major Joseph Eggleston was a native of AmeUa. He was a highly meritorious of- 
ficer of Lee's legion, and served through the whole of the southern campaigns. At the 
conclusion of the war he turned his attention to literature. He was a member of Con- 
gress in 1798-9, where he served with credit. He was cut oiF in the flower of his age, 
by the effects of an amputation of a disordered limb. 

The residence of the late distinguished William Branch Giles, 
was near the margin of the Appomattox, in this count5^ He sprang 
from humble, but respectable parentage, and was educated at 
Princeton. He was for many years a member of Congress from 
Virginia, both in the Senate and House of Representatives, where 
he arrived, as a debater, to very high rank. 

" He resigned his seat in the Senate, in 1815. He was governor of Virginia from 
1826 to 1829, and died in 18.30, at an advanced age. He published a speech on the 
embargo laws in 1808 ; political letters to the people of Virginia, in 1813 ; a series of 
letters, signed a Constituent, in the Richmond Enquirer of Jan. 1818, against the plan 
for a general education ; in April, 1824, a letter of invective against President Monroe 
and Henry Clay, for their ' hobbies,' the South American cause, the Greek cause, In- 
ternal Improvements, and the Tariff in , Nov. 1825; he addressed a letter to Judge 
Marshall, disclaiming the expressions, not the general sentiments in regard to Washing- 
ton, ascribed to him in the Life of Washington. He has also appeared before the public 
as the correspondent of Jolm Quincy Adams." Mr. Giles was also one of the most dis- 
tinguished members of the convention that revised the constitution of Virginia, in 1830. 



In 1843, there died in this county, at an advanced age, a negro preacher of considera- 
ble local celebrity, who went by the name of Uncle Jack. He was kidnapped, and 
brought from Africa at seven years of age, and landed at Osborne's, on James River, 
from what it is supposed was the last slave-ship which deposited its cargo in Virginia. 
Such was his worth of character, that, on the death of his master, several benevolent 
individuals by their contributions purchased his freedom. One, who knew him well, 
said, " I regard this old African as a burning light, raised up by Christian principles 
alone, to a degree of moral purity seldom equalled and never exceeded in any country." 
The late Rev. Dr. Rice also remarked, " The old man's acquaintance with the scriptures 
is wonderful. Many of his interpretations of obscure passages of scripture are singularly 
just and striking. In many respects, indeed, he is the most remarkable man I ever knew." 

His views of the leading doctrines of Christianity were thorough and evangelical. 
His preaching abounded with quotations surprisingly minute, and his illustrations were 
vivid and correct. His knowledge of human nature was profound ; and hence his 
extensive usefulness among the African population, as well as an extensive circle of 
whites. His language was pure English, without the vulgarities of the blacks. In his 
intercourse with all classes he was governed by Christian humility, and he abhorred cant 
and grimace. " He uniformly opposed, both in public and private, every thing like noise 
and disorder in the house of God. His colored audience were very prone to indulge 
themselves in this way. But, whenever they did, he uniformly suspended the exercises 
until they became silent. On one of these occasions, he rebuked liis hearers substan- 
tially, as follows : ' You noisy Christians remind me of the little branches after a heavy 
rain. They are soon full — then noisy — and as soon empty. I had a great deal rather 
see you like the broad, deep river, which is quiet because it is broad and deep.' " 

Of this worthy and strong-minded old man, we take the liberty of annexing a few 



AMHERST COUNTV. 175 

anecdotes, drawn from his memoir in the Watchman of the South. In speaking of the 
excitement and noise at a protracted meeting, he remarked, " I was reminded of what 
I have noticed in the woods : when the wind blows hard, the dry leaves make a great 
deal more noise than the green ones." When persons scoffed at his religion, his usual 
diffidence and reserve would give way to a firm and dignified defence, and most happily 
would he " answer a fool according to his folly." A person addicted to horse-racing and 
card-playing stopped him one day on the road, and said — " Old man, you Christians say 
a great deal about the way to heaven being very narrow. Now, if this be so, a great 
many who profess to be travelling it will not find it half wide enough." " That's very 
true," was the reply, " of all who have merely a name to live, and all like you." " Why 
refer to me ?" asked the man ; " if the road is wide enough for any, it is for me." " By 
no means," replied Uncle Jack ; " when you set out you will want to take along a 
card-table, and a race-horse or two. Now, there's no room along this way for such 
things, and what would you do, even in heaven, without them?" An individual accus- 
tomed to treat religion rather sportively, and who prided himself upon his morality, said 
to him, " Old man, I am as good as I need be ; I can't help thinking so, because God 
blesses me as much as he does you Christians, and I don't know what more I want than 
he gives me." To this the old preacher replied, with great seriousness, " Just so with 
the hogs. I have often looked at them, rooting among the leaves in the woods, and 
finding just as many acorns as they needed ; and yet I never saw one of them look up 
to the tree from whence the acorns fell." In speaking of the low state of religion, he 
said, " there seems to be great coldness and deadness on the subject of religion every, 
where ; the fire has almost gone out, and nothing is left but a few smoking chumps, 
lying about in places." 

The laws of Virginia prohibit religious as well as other assemblies of slaves, unless 
at least two white persons are present. Such, however, was the universally acknow- 
ledged happy influence of Uncle Jack's meetings, that in his case it was not deemed 
necessary to enforce the law. On one occasion, some mischievous persons undertook to 
arrest and whip him and several of his hearers. After the arrest, one of the number 
thus accosted Uncle Jack: " Well, old fellow, you are the ringleader of all these meet- 
ings, and we have been anxious to catch you ; now, what have you got to say for your- 
self?" "Nothing at all, master," was the replj^. "What! nothing to say against 
being whipped! how is that?" "I have been wondering for a long time," said he, 
" how it was that so good a man as the Apostle Paul should have been whipped three 
times for preaching the gospel, while such an unworthy man as I am should have been 
permitted to preach for 20 years, without ever getting a lick." It is hardly necessary 
to add, that these young men immediately released him. 

His influence over the members of his church was almost unbounded. As evidence 
of the fact, take the following : — 

A gentleman who resided in the neighborhood, on walking out over his farm, detected 
one of his servants, who belonged to Uncle Jack's flock, in some very improper conduct. 
The only notice he took of it, was to threaten that he would inform that spiritual man. 
When he arose on the following morning and came to the door, he found this servant 
waiting and anxious to see him. " Why, Tom," said he, " what is the matter ; why 
don't you go to your work ?" "Why, master," replied the servant, "if you would 
please whip me yourself, and don't tell Uncle Jack." 

We would like to extend this notice, but want of space forbids. Uncle Jack died at 
the age of nearly 100 years. He was one of those characters, that, under propitious 
circumstances, might have left an undying name. But in the limited sphere of his in- 
fluence, his humble and consistent life won for him the affections of the best people 
in the community 



AMHERST. 

Amherst was formed in 1761, from Albemarle. It is about 22 
miles long, and 19 wide. The James River forms its sw. and se. 
boundary, and the Blue Ridge its northwest. The James River 
Canal passes through the se. part of the county. The soil is 
naturally fertile, and of a dark, rich, red hue, and the scenery 



176 



AMHERST COUNTY. 



beautifully diversified. Pop. in 1830, 12,072; in 1840, whites 
6,426, slaves 5,577, free colored 373 ; total, 12,576. 

Amherst C. H., on the road from Lynchburg to Charlottesville, 
about 15 miles n. of the former, and New Glasgow, are small 
villages. 




Pass of the James River through the Blue Ridge. 

The pass of the James River through the Blue Ridge, is on the 
line of this and the county of Rockbridge. There a canal, seven 
miles in length, has been constructed around Balcony Falls, which 
will form the bed of the James River Canal, whenever that work 
is continued westward. The stage road from Lynchburg to the 
Natural Bridge winds along the side of the mountain, through 
wild and romantic scenery, which, to the lowlander accustomed 
only to the flatlands and pine-barrens of eastern Virginia, is 
striking. As he enters the gap from the east, the road gradually 



AUGUSTA COUNTY. 177 

follows its tortuous course up the mountain's side, until it gains 
an elevation of hundreds of feet above the river, which it appears 
to nearly overhang. Gigantic mountains hem him in on every 
side ; while far, from the dark ravine below, comes up the roar of 
the rapids. A little mountain rivulet, from amid the primeval 
forest, dashes across his path, and, leaping from rock to rock, hur- 
ries on to swell the stream below. Emerging from the pass, a 
beautiful and fertile country opens before him, and still westward 
the blue outlines of distant mountains in Rockbridge meet his 
view. 



AUGUSTA. 

Augusta was formed from Orange, in 1738. " Previously, all that 
part of Virginia lying west of the Blue Ridge was included in 
Orange ; but in the fall session of this year it was divided into the 
counties of Frederick and Augusta. Frederick county was bounded 
by the Potomac on the north, the Blue Ridge on the east, and a 
line to be run from the head spring of Hedgman to head spring 
of the Potomac, on the south and west ; the remainder of Virginia, 
west of the Blue Ridge, to constitute Augusta. This immense ter- 
ritory, at the present time, comprises four entire states, and nearly 
40 counties in western Virginia. As the population increased, 
the limits of Augusta were reduced until it reached its present 
boundaries in 1790." It is about 35 miles long, and 30 broad. The 
surface is generally uneven, and in the e. and w. mountainous. 
There are, however, some extensive bottoms of very fertile land. 
It is drained by tributaries of the James and Shenandoah rivers. 
Pop. 1830, 19,925; 1840, whites 15,072, slaves 4,145, free colored 
421 ; total 19,628. 

There are several fine villages in the county, besides the large 
and flourishing town of Staunton. Greenville and Middlebrook, 
the first 12 miles ssw. and the last 11 miles sw. of Staunton, 
contain each abou!; sixty dwellings. Waynesboro', at the western 
base of the Blue Ridge, on the main stage road from Charlottes- 
ville to Staunton, 12 miles easterly from the latter, is a wealthy 
and flourishing village, containing about 100 dwellings. Mount 
Sydney, 10 miles ne. of Staunton, contains about 40 dwellings. 
Mount Solon, Spring Hill, Mount Meridian, and New Hope, are 
small places, at the first of which there is considerable manufac- 
turing carried on. There the Moss Creek Spring rises from a hill, 
and furnishes the power for a forge, a furnace, and 1 paper and 1 
merchant mill. 

The Augusta Springs are 12 miles nw. of Staunton. The 
water is strongly impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, and is 
said to equal the celebrated springs of Harrowgate, England. The 
improvements at this place are ample, and the situation extremely 

23 



178 



AUGUSTA COUNTY. 



picturesque. About 12 miles sw. of Staunton, is one of those 
ebbing and flowing springs, so common in western Virginia. 




Virginia Lunatic Asylum at Staunton. 

Staunton, the county-seat, lies 116 ms. northwesterly from Rich- 
mond, 163 from Washington City, on one of the extreme head 
branches of the e. fork of Shenandoah River, in a fine valley be- 
tween the Blue Ridge and north mountain chains. 




Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind, at Staunton, Va. 

It contains 1 newspaper printing office, 2 female seminaries, 2 
male academies, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal, 1 Lutheran, and 1 
Methodist church, and a population of about 2,200. It has 
many mercantile and mechanical establishments, and does a 
large business with the surrounding country. An excellent mac- 



AUGUSTA COUNTY. 179 

adamised road leads from here to Winchester. The Western Lu- 
natic Asylum is located at this place, and is a noble pile of brick 
buildings. By the U. S. census of 1840, the whole number of in- 
sane and idiotic persons in Virginia was 892, or 1 to every 866 per- 
sons. The Virginia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the 
Blind, has been established within a few years. A beautiful brick 
building is now erecting for it, near the town, on an elevated and 
picturesque site. By the U. S. census for 1840, the number of 
deaf and dumb in the state was 603, or 1 to every 2,056 of the 
population ; the number of blind 802, or one to every 1390 of the 
population. 

" When Tarleton, in the war of the revolution, pursued the legis- 
ture to Charlottesville, to which place they had adjourned from 
Richmond, they again fled and met at Staunton, where they finish- 
ed their session. At some future day it will probably become the 
seat of government. It was at this place that two large conven- 
tions were held, to deliberate on forming the constitution of Vir- 
ginia. The last met in July, 1825, and made an appeal to the 
legislature, who thereupon submitted the question to the people, 
and it finally resulted in the adoption of the new constitution." 

This county has been the birth-place or the residence of several 
prominent characters. Among them may be mentioned the Hon. 
Daniel SheflJey ; Gen. Robert Porterfield, a gallant officer of the 
revolution ; and Judge Archibald Stuart, father of the Hon. Alex. 
H. H. Stuart. 

Daniel Sheffey was born at Frederick, Md., in 1770, and was bred a shoemaker, in 
his father's shop. His education was inconsiderable ; but possessing an ardent desire for 
knowledge, he passed his leisure in reading, and became particularly fond of astronom- 
ical and mathematical studies. Arrived at manhood, he travelled on foot, with his 
" kit" on his back, to Winchester. From thence he walked through the valley of Vir- 
ginia, stopping at various villages on his route, and earning sufficient money by his 
trade, to pay his expenses, until he at last arrived at Abbeville, Wythe county. He 
was a stranger, friendless and destitute. " Here he commenced his trade once more. 
The novelty and originality of his character, and the flashes of genius which enlivened 
his conversation, often compelled his new-tried friends to look on the eccentric youth 
with wonder." Becoming popular, he was received into the office of Alexander Smyth, 
Esq., and after being admitted to the bar of Wythe county, was employed in the most 
important suits. After some years he settled in Staunton, and obtained a lucrative 
practice. He often represented Augusta in the House of Delegates, and, in 1811, was 
chosen as a member of Congress. " His speech, in favor of a renewal of the charter 
of the first bank of the United States, was a masterly combination of sound judgment 
and conclusive facts: for three hours profound silence reigned ; and the most experienced 
statesmen were astonished at this exhibition of his talents." He was opposed to the 
declaration of war in 1812. On one occasion, he gave John Randolph, whose bitter 
sarcasm few could withstand, a most severe retort. In commenting upon a speech of 
Mr. Sheffey's, he said that " the shoemaker ought not to go beyond his last." In an 
instant ShefFey retorted, " if that gentleman had ever been on the bench, he never would 
hnve left it." 

Mr. ShefFey was a plain man ; his accent German, his pronunciation not agreeable ; 
yet the most refined audience always paid him profound attention. He seized upon the 
strong points of a case, and maintained them with unconquerable zeal. " Like Patrick 
Henry, he was the artificer of his own fortune, and like him, in after-life, lamented that 

* Kereheval's MSS. for a 2d edition of his History of the Valley. 



180 



AUGUSTA COUNTY. 



in his early days the lamp of life had shed but a feeble ray along the path which it wag 
his destiny to travel."* He died in 1830. 




Cyclopean Towers., Augusta Co. 

The Cyclopean towers, which are near the Augusta Springs, are 
among the greatest curiosities of nature in the Union. Yet for 
many years they were known only in the vicinity, and bore the 
rude appellation of " the chimneys." They are about 60 or 70 feet 
in height. We annex the following from a published description 
by a gentleman who visited the towers in 1834, and gave them 

* Southern Literary Messenger. 



AUGUSTA COUNTY. 181 

their present name. It commences with a description of the 
country as he approached towards them : 

After passing over a hilly and picturesque country, the road opened upon a fertile 
valley, which though in places narrow, was of considerable length — and when seen 
from an elevated position, appeared like the bed of an ancient lake, or as it really is, 
the alluvial border of a flowing stream. The strata of limestone hills followed their 
usual order of parallel lines to the great mountains of our continent, as though a strong 
current had once swept through this magnificent valley, forming in its course islands 
and promontories, which are now discoverable in numerous short hills and rocky bluffs, 
that are either naked and barren, or covered with a growth of stately treee. It was at 
such a projection, that we first descried the gray summits of what seemed a ruinous 
castle — ^^resembling those which were raised in feudal times to guard the passes of the 
Rhine, or like such as are still seen in mouldering majesty on many an Alpine rock. 
These summits or towers, of which there were seven, lifted their heads above the lofty 
elms, like so many antique chimneys in the midst of a grove ; but, on approaching them 
nearer, our pleasure was greatly increased to find them rise almost perpendicularly from 
the bed of a stream, which, winding around their base, serves as a natural moat to a 
building not made with mortal hands. 

These rocks in their formation resemble the palisades on the Hudson River — but are 
more regular in their strata, which appears to have been arranged in huge masses 
of perfect workmanship, with projections like cornices of Gothic architecture, in a state 
of dilapidation. Those who are acquainted with the structure of the Cyclopean walls 
of the ancients, would be struck with the resemblance. 

A narrative of the circumstances connected with the settlement of 
Augusta county, by the Lewis family, collected from authentic rec- 
ords, and traditions of the family, and communicated for this work 
by a gentleman of the county : 

John Lewis was a native and citizen of Ireland, descended from a family of Hugue- 
nots, who took refuge in that kingdom from the persecutions that followed the assassina- 
tion of Henry IV., of France. His rank was that of an Esquire, and he inherited a 
handsome estate, which he increased by industry and frugality, until he became the 
lessee of a contiguous property, of considerable value. He married Margaret Lynn, 
daughter of the laird of Loch Lynn, who was a descendant of the chieftains of a once 
powerful clan in the Scottish Highlands. By this marriage he had four sons, three of 
them, Thomas, Andrew, and William, born in Ireland, and Charles, the child of his old 
age, born a few months after their settlement in their mountain home. 

The emigration of John Lewis to Virginia, was the result of one of those bloody af- 
frays, which at that time so often occurred to disturb the repose, and destroy the hap- 
piness of Irish families. The owner of the fee out of which the leasehold of Lewis was 
carved, a nobleman of profligate habits and ungovernable passions, seeing the prosperity 
of his lessee, and repenting the bargain he had concluded, under pretence of entering for 
an alleged breach of condition, attempted by the aid of a band of ruffians, hired for his 
purpose, to take forcible possession of the premises. For this end, he surrounded 
the house with his ruffians, and called upon Lewis to evacuate the premises without de- 
lay, a demand which was instantly and indignantly refused by Lewis ; though sur- 
prised with a sick brother, his wife, and infant children in the house, and with no aid but 
such as could be afforded by a few faithful domestics. With this small force, scarce 
equal to one-fourth the number of his assailants, he resolved to maintain his legal rights 
at every hazard. The enraged nobleman commenced the affray by discharging his 
fowhng-piece into the house, by which the invalid brother of Lewis was killed, and Mar- 
garet herself severely wounded. Upon this, the enraged hiisband and brother, rushed 
from the house, attended by his devoted little band, and soon succeeded in dispersing the 
assailants, though not until the noble author of the mischief, as well as his steward, had 
perished by the hand of Lewis. By this time the family were surrounded by their sym- 
pathizing friends and neighbors, who, after bestowing every aid in their power, advised 
Lewis to fly the country, a measure rendered necessary by the high standing of his late 
antagonist, the desperate character of his surviving assailants, and the want of evi- 
dence by which he could have established the facts of the case. He therefore, after 
drawing up a detailed statement of the affkir, which he directed to the proper authorities, 
embarked on board a vessel bound for America, attended by his family and a band of 



182 AUGUSTA COUNTY. 

about thirty of his faithful tenantry. In due time the emigrants landed on the shores of 
Virginia, and fixed their residence amid the till then unbroken forests of west Augusta- 
John Lewis's settlement was a few miles below the site of the town of Staunton, on the 
banks of the stream which still bears his name. It may be proper to remark here, that 
when the circumstances of the af&ay became known, after due investigation, a par- 
don was granted to John Lewis, and patents are still extant, by which his majesty 
granted to him a large portion of the fair domain of western Virginia. 

For many years after the settlement at Fort Lewis, great amity and good will existed 
between (he neighboring Indians and the white settlers, whose numbers increased apace, 
until they became quite a formidable colony. It was then that the jealousy of their red 
neighbors became aroused, and a war broke out, which, for cool though desperate cour- 
age and activity on the part of the whites, and ferocity, cunning, and barbarity on the 
part of the Indians, was never equalled in any age or country. John Lewis was, by this 
time, well stricken in years, but his four sons, who were now grown up, were well quali- 
fied to fill his place, and to act the part of leaders to the gallant little band, who so no- 
bly battled for the protection of their homes and families. It is not my purpose to go 
into the details of a warfare, during which scarcely a settlement was exempt from 
monthly attacks of the savages, and during which Charles Lewis, the youngest son of 
John, is said never to have spent one month at a time out of active and arduous service. 
Charles was the hero of many a gallant exploit, which is still treasured in the memories 
of the descendants of the border riflemen, and there are few families among the AUegha- 
nies where the name and deeds of Charles Lewis are not familiar as household words. 
On one occasion, Charles was captured by the Indians while on a hunting excursion, and 
after having travelled some two hundred miles, barefoot, his arms pinioned behind him, 
goaded on by the knives of his remorseless captors, he effected his escape. While travel- 
hng along the bank of a precipice some twenty feet in height, he suddenly, by a strong 
muscular exertion, burst the cords which bound him, and plunged down the steep into the 
bed of a mountain torrent. His persecutors hesitated not to follow. In a race of several 
hundred yards, Lewis had gained some few yards upon his pursuers, when, upon leaping 
a prostrate tree which lay across his course, his strength suddenly failed, and he fell pros- 
trate among the weeds which had grown up in great luxuriance around the body of the 
tree. Three of the Indians sprang over the tree within a few feet of where their prey lay 
concealed ; but with a feeling of the most devout thankfulness to a kind and superin- 
tending Providence, he saw them one by one disappear in the dark recesses of the forest. 
He now bethought himself of rising from his uneasy bed, when lo ! a new enemy appear- 
ed, in the shape of an enormous rattlesnake, who had thrown himself into the deadly 
coil so near his face that his fangs were within a few inches of his nose ; and his enor- 
mous rattle, as it waved to and fro, once rested upon his ear. A single contraction of the 
eyelid — a convulsive shudder — the relaxation of a single muscle, and the deadly beast 
would have sprung upon him. In this situation he lay for several minutes, when the 
reptile, probably supposing him to be dead, crawled over his body and moved slowly away. 
" I had eaten nothing," said Lewis to his companions, after his return, " for many days ; 
I had no fire-arms, and I ran the risk of dying with hunger, ere I could reach the settle- 
ment ; but rather would I have died, than made a me^l of the generous beast." During 
this war, an attack was made upon the settlement of ^ Fort Lewis,; at a time when the 
whole force of the settlement was out on active duty. So great was the surprise, that 
many of the women and children were captured in sight of the fort, though far the great- 
er part escaped, and concealed themselves in their hiding places, in the woods. The 
fort was occupied by John Lewis, then very old and infirm, his wife, and two young wo- 
men, who were so much alarmed that they scarce moved from their seats tipon the 
ground floor of the fort. John Lewis, however, opened a port-hole, where he stationed 
himself, firing at the savages, while Margaret reloaded the guns. In this manner he 
sustained a siege of six hours, during which he killed upwards of a score of savages, when 
he was relieved by the appearance of his party. 

Thomas Lewis, the eldest son of John Lewis and Margaret Lynn, labored under a 
defect of vision, which disabled him as a marksman, and he was, therefore, less efficient 
during the Indian wars than his brethren. He was, however, a man of learning and 
sound judgment, and represented the county of Augusta for many years in the House 
of Burgesses ; was a member of the convention which ratified the constitution of the Uni- 
ted States, and formed the constitution of Virginia, and afterwards sat for the county of 
Rockingham in the House of Delegates of Virginia. In 1765, he was in the House of 
Burgesses, and voted for Patrick Henry's celebrated resolutions. Thomas Lewis had 
four sons actively participating in the war of the revolution; the youngest of whom, 
Thomas, who is now living, bore an ensign's commission when but fourteen years of age 



AUGUSTA COUNTY. 



183 



Andrew, the second son of John Lewis and Margaret Lynn, is the Gen. Lewis who 
commanded at the battle of Point Pleasant. (See his memoir in Bottetourt co.) 

Charles Lewis, the youngest of the sons of John Lewis, fell at the head of his regi- 
ment, when leading on the attack at Point Pleasant. Charles was esteemed the most 
skilful of all the leaders of the border warfare, and was as much beloved for his noble 
and amiable qualities as he was admired for his military talents. 




View in Weyer's Cave. 

William, the third son, was an active participator in the border wars, and was an offi- 
cer of the revolutionary army, in which one of his sons was killed, and another maimed 
for life. When the British force under Tarleton drove the legislature from Charlottes- 
ville to Staunton, the stillness of the Sabbath eve was broken in the latter town by 
the beat of the drum, and volunteers were called for to prevent the passage of the British 
through the mountains at Rockfish Gap. The elder sons of Wm. Lewis, who then re- 
sided at the old fort, were absent with the northern army. Three sons, however, were at 
home, whose ages were 17, 15, and 13 years. Wm. Lewis was confined to his room by 
sickness, but his wife, with the firmness of a Roman matron, called them to her, and 
bade them fly to the defence of their native land. " Go my children," said she, " I spare 
not my youngest, my fair-haired boy, the comfort of my declining years. I devote you 
all to my country. Keep back the foot of the invader from the soil of Augusta, or see 
my face no more." When this incident was related to Washington, shortly after its oc- 
currence, he enthusiastically exclaimed, " Leave me but a banner to plant upon the 
mountains of Augusta, and I will rally around me the men who will lift our bleeding 
country from the dust, and set her free." 

I have frequently heard, when a boy, an anecdote related by an old settler, somewhat 
to this effect : The white, or wild clover, is of indigenous growth, and abounded on the 
banks of the rivers, &c. The red was introduced by John Lewis, and it was currently 
reported by their prophets, and believed by the Indians generally, that the blood of the 
red man slain by the Lewises and their followers, had dyed the trefoil to its sanguine 
hue. The Indians, however, always did the whites the justice to say, that the red man 
was the aggressor in their first quarrel, and that the white men of western Virginia had 
always evinced a disposition to treat their red brethren with moderation and justice. 

( Weyer's Cave, is 17 miles N. of Staunton, in a hill a short dis- 
tance west of the Blue Ridge. It derives its name from Bernard 
Weyer, who discovered it in 1804, while hunting. ' 



184 AUGUSTA COUNTY. 

Within a few hundred yards of it, is Madison's cave, described by Jefferson. This, 
however, has superior attractions. No languag-e can convey an adequate idea of the 
vastness and sublimity of some, or the exquisite beauty and grandeur of other of its innu- 
merable apartments, with their snowy-white concretions of a thousand various forms. 
Many of these, with their striking and picturesque objects, have names exceedingly in- 
appropriate, which to mention would degrade any description, however well written, by 
the association of the beautiful and sublime, with the vulgar and hackneyed. Washing- 
ton Hall, the largest apartment, is 250 feet in length. A foreign traveller who visited 
the cave at an annual illumination, has, in a finely written description, the following no- 
tice of this hall : 

" There is a fine sheet of rock-work running up the centre of this room, and giving it 
the aspect of two separate and noble galleries, till you look above, where you observe the 
partition rises only 20 feet towards the roof, and leaves the fine arch expanding over your 
head untouched. There is a beautiful concretion here, standing out in the room, which 
certainly has the form and drapery of a gigantic statue ; it bears the name of the Na- 
tion's Hero, and the whole place is filled with those projections, appearances which ex- 
cite the imagination by suggesting resemblances, and leaving them unfinished. The 
general effect, too, was perhaps indescribable. The fine perspective of this room, four 
times the length of an ordinary church ; the numerous tapers, when near you, so encum- 
bered by deep shadows as to give only a dm religious light ; and when at a distance, 
appearing in their various attitudes like twinkling stars on a deep dark heaven ; the ama- 
zing vaulted roof spread over you, with its carved and knotted surface, to which tlie 
streaming lights below in vain endeavored to convey their radiance ; together with the 
impression that you had made so deep an entrance, and were so entirely cut off from the 
hving world and ordinary things ; produces an effect which, perhaps, the mind can re- 
ceive but once, and will retain forever." 

" Weyer's Cave," says the writer above quoted, " is in my judgment one of the 
great natural wonders of this new world ; and for its eminence in its own class, deserves 
to be ranked with the Natural Bridge and Niagara, while it is far less known than either. 
Its dimensions, by the most direct course, are more than 1,600 feet ; and by the more 
winding paths, twice that length ; and its objects are remarkable for their variety, for- 
mation, and beauty. In both respects, it will, I think, compare, without injury to itself, 
with the celebrated Grotto of Antiparos. For myself, I acknowledge the spectacle to 
have been most interesting ; but, to be so, it must be illuminated, as on this occasion. I 
had thought that this circumstance might give to the whole a toyish effect ; but the influ- 
ence of 2,000 or 3,000 lights on these immense caverns is only such as to reveal the ob- 
jects, without disturbing the solemn and sublime obscurity which sleeps on every thing. 
Scarcely any scenes can awaken so many passions at once, and so deeply. Curiosity, 
apprehension, terror, surprise, admiration, and delight, by turns and together, arrest and 
possess you. I have had before, from other objects, one simple impression made with 
greater power ; but I never had so many impressions made, and with so much power, 
before. If the interesting and the awful are the elements of the sublime, here sublimity 
reigns, as in her own domain, in darkness, silence, and deeps profound." 

There died In this county, in February, 1844, a slave, named Gilbert, aged 112 years. 
He was a servant to Washington at the time of Braddock's defeat, and was afterwards 
present, in the same capacity, at the surrender of Cornwallis. 



BATH. 



Bath was formed in 1791, from Augusta, Bottetourt, and Green- 
briar. It is about 35 miles long and 25 broad. It is watered by 
the head-branches of the James, Cow Pasture and Jackson Rivers. 
Some of the valley lands are very fertile, but the greatest propor- 
tion of the county is uncultivated, and covered with mountains. 
Pop. 1830, 4,008 ; 1840, whites 3,170, slaves 347, free colored 83 ; 
total 4,300. 

Warm Springs, the county-seat, is 164 miles W. of Richmond, 
and 40 miles N. E. of the White Sulphur Springs of Greenbriar. 



BATH COUNTY. 185 

Besides the county buildings, and the elegant hotels for the accom- 
modation of visiters at the springs, there are but a few dwellings. 
The situation of the place is delightful, in a narrow and fertile 
valley, between two high mountains, and offers numerous attrac- 
tions to its many visiters. 

The tradition respecting the discovery of the springs is, that a party of Indians hunt- 
ing, spent a night in the valley. One of their number discovering the spring, bathed in 
it, and being much fatigued, he was induced, by the delicious sensation and warmth 
imparted by it, to remain all night. The next morning he was enabled to scale the mountain 
before his companions. As the country became settled, the fame of the waters gradually 
extended : and at first, visiters from the low country dwelt here in rude huts. For a 
long time, both this and the Hot Spring were only surrounded by brush, and open at top. 

The subjoined analysis of these waters was made by Prof. Rogers : 

" The bath is an octagon, 38 feet in diameter, and 16 feet 9 inches inside — its area is 
1163.77 feet. The ordinary depth of water being 5 feet, the cubic capacity is 5818.86 
feet, or 43533.32 gallons. Notwithstanding the leaks, this quantity of water will flow into 
the reservoir in one hour. The average temperature of the bath is 98 deg. Fahrenheit. 
The gas which rises in the bath consists of nitrogen, with minute quantities of sulphur- 
etted hydrogen and carbonic acid. 

" Besides this gas, each gallon of water contains 4.5 cubic inches of gas, consisting 
of nitrogen, 3.25 cubic inches ; sulphuretted hydrogen, 0.25 do. ; carbonic acid, 1.00 do. 

" The saline contents of one gallon of the water, are as follows : muriate of lime, 3.968 ; 
sulphate of magnesia, 9.984 ; carbonate of lime, 4.288 ; sulphate of lime, 5.466 ; a trace 
of soda, no doubt, in the state of muriate. 

" While the Warm Springs afford the most luxurious bath in the world, they contain 
neutral salts and various gases, which act as a gentle aperient, diuretic and sudorific, and 
give tone and vigor to the human system. It is well ascertained in other countries, that 
waters of a high temperature tend more to strengthen the digestive organs than those of 
a low temperature ; but it is found, by actual experiment, that the water at the Warm 
Springs retains a considerable portion of its useful qualities when bottled in tlie spring, 
and then cooled by immersing the bottles in cold water, or even ice ; and this plan is 
adopted by many of those who have a repugnance to the use of warm water." 

The approach to the Warm Springs from the east, is over the 
mountain of the same name. The road which leads across it is 
five miles, four-fifths of which is on the east side of the ridge, 
where to the traveller a succession of deep precipices and glens 
present themselves, environed with gloomy woods and obscure 
bottoms. From the summit of the mountain at the Warm Spring 
Rock, which is much visited, there is a sublime view of parallel 
ridges of mountains, extending for 40 or 50 miles, one behind the 
other, as far as the eye can reach, " like a dark blue sea of giant 
billows, instantly stricken solid by nature's magic wand." Some 
70 years since, the principal route of emigration was across this 
mountain, at which time there was no wagon-road over it. The 
emigrants came in wagons to " the camping-ground," a level spot 
near what is now Brinckley's tavern, at the eastern base of the 
mountain. From thence they transported their baggage to the 
west on pack-horses, while their wagons returned east loaded with 
venison, hams, &c. 

One mile west of the little village of Milboro' Spring, and 12 
miles east of the Warm Springs, on the road between the two 
places, in a high ledge on the bank of the Cow-Pasture River, is 
the celebrated " blowing-cave" described in Jefferson's Notes. The 
mouth of the cave is 20 or 30 feet above the road, in shape semi- 
circular, and in height about 4 feet. It has been explored for a 

24 



186 BARBOUR COUNTY. 

considerable distance. It is said that a small dog who entered 
found his way out through some unknown passage. When the 
internal and external atmosphere are the same, there is no percep- 
tible current issuing from it. In intense hot weather, the air comes 
out with so much force as to prostrate the weeds at the entrance. 
In a warm day in June, in 1843, as Dr. John Brockenbrough, the 
principal proprietor of the Warm Springs, was passing in his 
carriage, he sent a little child to the mouth of the cave, who let 
go before it a handkerchief, which was blown by the current over 
the horses' heads in the road, a distance of 30 or 40 feet. In in- 
tense cold weather, the air draws in. There is a jiowing and ebb- 
ing spring on the same stream with the blowing-cave, which sup- 
plies water-power for a grist-mill, a distillery, and a tan-yard. It 
flows irregularly. When it commences, the water bursts out in 
a body as if let loose from a dam. 

Gen. Samuel Blackburn, who resided in this county, was born about the year 1758. 
He was one of the most successful orators and criminal lawyers of his time in Virginia. 
He was the father of the anti-duelling law of the state, which we believe was the first 
passed in the country after the war of the revolution. Among other penalties, it pro- 
hibited any one who had been engaged in a duel from holding offices of trust in the gift of 
the state. Some years after, a gentleman who had challenged another was elected to the 
legislature. When he came forward to take the customary oath, his violation of this 
law was urged against him. Some, however, contended that the circumstances of the 
case were so aggravating that its provisions ought to be disregarded, and fears were enter- 
tained that this sentiment might prevail. Then it was that Gen. Blackburn, who was a 
member, came forward with a speech of great power in opposition. The result was the 
triumph of the law in the rejection of the member. Gen. B. died in 1835, aged about 77. 
He was a man of much benevolence. At his death, he by will manumitted all his slaves, 
and provided for their transportation to Liberia. 

The Hot Springs are 5 miles from the Warm, in the same beau- 
tiful valley with the latter. These springs stand high in public 
favor. There are several baths here, called the Hot Spouts. Their 
highest temperature is 106 degrees. 

" The beneficial effects of hot spouts, topically applied, are so miraculous, in many 
painful and obstinate complaints, that words cannot adequately describe them ; therefore 
the prisoners of pain are strongly recommended to expose their rheumatic joints, gouty 
toes, and enlarged livers, to the comfortable outpourings of these heahng steams. The 
water of the Hot Springs contains nitrogen and carbonic acid, carbonate of lime, sulphate 
of lime, sulphate of soda, sulphate of magnesia, muriate of soda, silica, and a trace of 
oxide of iron. It may be taken internally with much advantage, particularly as a sure 
and gentle diuretic. 

" The effect of this bath on rheumatic and gouty afl^ections, and on old deep-seated 
and chronic complaints, that medicine does not seem to reach, is very beneficial. It 
restores the surface to a good condition, and promotes the healthy action of the skin ; 
and every person who drinks the water of the various sulphur springs, should afterwards 
stop here two or three weeks, and try the virtue of the boiler. There are, near the hotel, 
a hot and cold spring issuing so near each other, that you can dip the thumb and fore- 
finger of the same hand into hot and cold water at the same time." 



BARBOUR. 

Barbour was formed in 1843, from Harrison, Lewis, and Ran- 
dolph, and named from the distinguished Barbour family : it is 30 



BARBOUR COUNTY. 187 

miles long and 15 wide. The eastern part is mountainous, the 
western hilly, and much of the soil is fertile and adapted to gra- 
zing. It is thickly settled at the heads of Simpson's and Elk 
creeks, and on Buchannon and Tygart's Valley Rivers. Estimated 
population 5,000. Philippi, the county-seat, — formerly Boothe's 
Ferry of Randolph, — is situated 240 miles nw. of Richmond, and 
30 SE. of Clarksburg, on the east bank of Tygart's Valley River, 
in a fertile country. It contains about a dozen dwellings, and has 
in its vicinity an abundance of coal and iron ore of an excellent 
quality. 

The tract of country comprehended in the limits of this county, 
was the first permanently settled in northwestern Virginia. The 
following, relating to the settling of this portion of Virginia, is 
drawn from Withers' Border Warfare, published in 1831, — a work 
from which we have obtained considerable information respecting 
this portion of the state. 

The comparative security which succeeded the treaty of 1765, contributed to advance the prosperity 
of the Virginia frontiers, and soon induced the settling of several places on the Monongahela and its 
branches, and on the Ohio river. The first settlement was that made on the Buchannon, a fork of the 
Tygart's Valley River, and was induced by the flattering account given by two brothers, who had dwelt 
there under rather unpleasant circumstances. 

In 17G1, four soldiers deserted from Fort Pitt, and after some wanderings, encamped in the glades over 
to the head of the Yougho'gany, where they remained about twelve months. Two of them, in an excur- 
sion among the settlers at Looney creek, were recognised and apprehended as deserters ; but John and 
Samuel Pringle escaped to their camp in the glades, where they remained till some time in the year 
1764. 

During this year, and while in the employ of John Simpson, (a trapper who had come there in quest 
of furs,) they determined on removing further west. Simpson was induced to this by the prospect of en- 
joying the woods free from the intrusion of other hunters, (the glades having begun to be a common 
hunting-ground for the inhabitants of the South Branch ;) while a regard for their personal safety, caused 
the Pringles to avoid a situation in which they might be exposed to the observation of other men. 

In journeying through the wilderness, and after having crossed Cheat River, at the Horse-Shoe, a quar- 
rel arose between Simpson and one of the Pringles ; and notwithstanding that peace and harmony were 
so necessary to their mutual safety and comfort, yet each so far indulged the angry passions which had 
been excited, as at length to produce a separation. 

Simpson crossed over the Valley River, near the mouth of Pleasant creek, and passing on to the head 
of another water-course, gave to it the name of Simpson's creek. Thence he went westwardly, and fell 
over on a stream which he called Elk : at the mouth of this he erected a camp, and continued to reside 
for more than twelve months. During this time he neither saw the Pringles, nor any other human being ; 
and at the expiration of it, went to the South Branch, where he disposed oi^ his furs and skins, and then 
returned to and continued at his encampment at the mouth of Elk, until permanent settlements were 
made in its vicinity. 

The Pringles kept up the Valley River till they observed a large right-hand fork, (now Buchannon,) 
which they ascended some miles ; and at the mouth of a small branch, (afterwards called Turkey run,) 
they took up their abode in the cavity of a large sycamore tree. The stump of this is still to be seen, 
and is an object of no little veneration with the immediate descendants of the first settlers. 

The situation of these men, during a residence here of several years, although rendered somewhat ne- 
cessary by their previous conduct, could not have been very enviable. Deserters from the army, a con- 
stant fear of discovery filled their minds with inquietude. In the vicinity of a savage foe, the tomahawk 
and scalping-knife were ever present to their imaginations. Remote from civilized man, their solitude 
was hourly interrupted by the frightful shrieks of the panther, or the hideous bowlings of the wolf. 
And though the herds of buffalo, elk, and deer, which gambolled sportively around, enabled them easily 
to supply their larder; yet, the want of salt, of bread, and of every species of kitchen vegetable, must 
have abated their relish for the otherwise delicious loin of the one, and haunch of the others. The low 
state of their little magazine, too, while it limited their hunting to the bare procuration of articles of 
subsistence, caused them, from a fear of discovery, to shrink at the idea of being driven to the settle- 
ments for a supply of amnmnition. And not until they were actually reduced to two loads of powder, 
could they be induced to venture again into the vicinity of their fellow-men. In the latter part of the 
year 1767, John left his brother, and intending to make for a trading post on the Shenandoah, appointed 
the period of his return. 

Samuel Pringle, in the absence of John, suffered a good deal. The stock of provisions left him be- 
came entirely exhausted — one of his loads of powder was expended in a fruitless attempt to shoot a 
buck — his brother had already delayed his return several days longer than was intended, and he was ap- 
prehensive that he had been recognised, taken to Fort Pitt, and would probably never get back. With 
his remaining load of powder, however, he was fortunate enough to kill a fine buftalo ; and John soon 
after returned with the news of peace, both with the Indians and French. The two brothers agreed to 
leave their retirement. 

Their wilderness habitation was not left without some regret. Every object around had become more 
or less endeared to them. The tree, in whose hollow they had been so frequently sheltered from slorm 
and tempest, was regarded by them with so great reverence, that they resolved, so soon as they could 
prevail on a few others to accompany them, again to return to this asylum of their exile. 

In a population such as then composed the chief part of the South Branch settlement this was no dif- 



188 BEDFORD COUNTY. 

ficiilt matter. All of them were used to the frontier manner of Uving ; the most of them had gone thith- 
er to acquire land; many had failed entirely in this object, while others were obliged to occupy poor and 
brolien situations off the river, the fertile bottoms having been previously located. Add to this the pas- 
sion for hunting, (which was a ruling one with many,) and the comparative scarcity of game In their 
neighborhood, and it need not excite surprise that the proposition of the Pringles to form a settlement in 
such a country as they represented that on Buchannon to be, was eagerly embraced by many. 

In the fall of the ensuing year, (17G8,) Samuel Pringle, and several others who wished first to examine 
for themselves, visited tlie country which had been so long occupied by the Pringles alone. Being pleas- 
ed with it, they in the following spring, with a few others, repaired thither with the view of cultivating 
as much corn as would serve their families the first year after their emigration. And having examined 
the country, for the purpose of selecting the most desirable situations, some of them proceeded to im- 
prove the spots of their choice. John Jackson (who was accompanied by his sons, George and Edward) 
settled at the mouth of Turkey run, where his daughter, Mrs. Davis, now lives — John Hacker higher up 
on the Buchannon River, where Bush's fort was afterwards established, and Nicholas Heavenor now lives 
— Alexander and Thomas Sleeth, near to Jackson's, on what is now known as the Porenash plantation. 
The others of the party (William Hacker, Thomas and Jesse Hughes, John and William Radcliff, and 
John Brown) appear to have employed their time exclusively in hunting ; neither of them making any 
improvement of land for his own benefit. Yet were they of very considerable service to the new settle- 
ment. Tliose who had commenced clearing land, were supplied by them with abundance of meat, while 
in their hunting excursions through the country, a better knowledge of it was obtained, than could have 
been acquired had they been engaged in making improvements. 

In one of these expeditions they discovered, and gave name to Stone-coal creek ; which flowing west- 
wardly, induced the supposition that it discharged itself directly into the Ohio. Descending this creek, 
to ascertain the fact, they came to its confluence with a river, which they then called, and has since been 
known as the West Fork. After having gone some distance down the river they returned by a different 
route to the settlement, better pleased with the land on it and some of its tributaries, than with that on 
Buchannon. 

Soon after this, other emigrants arrived under the guidance of Samuel Pringle. Among them were 
John and Benjamin Outright, who settled on Buchannon, where John Outright the younger, now lives ; 
and Henry Rule, ^ho improved just above the mouth of Fink's run. Before the arrival of Samuel Prin- 
gle, John Hacker had begun to improve the spot which Pringle had chosen for himself. To prevent any 
unpleasant result, Hacker agreed that if Pringle would clear as nuich land on a creek which had been 
recently discovered by the hunters, as he had on Buchannon, they could then exchange places. Comply- 
ing with this condition, Pringle took possession of the farm on Buchannon, and Hacker of the land im- 
proved by Pringle on the creek, which was hence called Hacker's creek. John and William Radcliff 
then likewise settled on this stream — the former on the farm where the Rev. John Mitchel now lives ; 
the latter at the place now owned by William Powers, Esq. These comprise all the improvements which 
were made on the upper branches of the Monongahela, in the years 1769 and 1770. 

At the close of the working season of 1769, some of these adventurers went to their families on the 
South Branch ; and when they returned to gather their crops in the fall, found them entirely destroyed. 
In their absence the buffaloes, no longer awed by the presence of man, had trespassed on their enclo- 
sures and eaten their corn to the ground ; this delayed the removal of their families till the winter 
of 1770. 

Soon after the happening of this event, other settlements were made on the upper branches of the 
Monongahela River. Capt. James Booth and John Thomas estabhshed themselves on what has been 
since called Booth's creek — the former at the place now owned by Jesse Martin, and the latter where 
William Martin at present resides, and which is, perhaps, the most valuable landed estate in northwest- 
ern Virginia, off the Ohio River. 

Previotis, however, to the actual settlement of the cotintry above the forks of the Monongahela, some 
few families (in 1767) had established themselves in the vicinity of Fort Redstone, now Brownsville, in 
Pennsylvania. 



BEDFORD. 

Bedford was formed from Lunenburg county, in 1753. It is 35 
miles long, with an average breadth of 25. The surface is iin- 
even, and the soil is naturally very fertile, but has been injured by 
the injudicious cultivation of tobacco. It is bounded on the north 
by the James River, and on the south by the Staunton. Goose and 
Otter creeks flow through it, the latter of which gives name to the 
noted Peaks of Otter. Population in 1830, 20,253 ; in 1840, whites 
11,016, slaves 8,864, free colored 323— total 20,203. 

Liberty, the county-seat, is on the Lynchburgh and Salem turn- 
pike, 26 miles sw. of the former, and contains five mercantile 
stores, one Baptist, one Presbyterian, one Episcopal, and one Meth- 
odist church, a large and handsome court-house, built in 1834, and 
a population of about 600. This neat and flourishing village is 
the admiration of travellers, — being surrounded by a beautiful, 
rolling, fertile country, bounded by a back-ground of great sublim- 



BEDFORD COUNTY. 



189 



ity. The Blue Ridge, running to the right and left across the 
horizon for many miles, here towers to its greatest height in the 
celebrated peaks of Otter, which, although seven miles distant, 
appear in the immediate vicinity. These apparently isolated 
peaks, with one or two exceptions, are the loftiest mountains in 
the southern states. The estimated height of the most elevated. 






i t. 



TAe Peaks of Otter from, near Liberty. 

the northern peak, is 4200 feet above the plain, and 5307 feet above 
the level of the ocean, which is more than a mile in height. The 
most southerly, or the conical peak, is much visited. A writer in 
the Southern Literary Messenger gives the following glowing de- 
scription of a trip to the peaks : 

After ridin? about a mile and a quarter, we came to the point beyond which horses cannot be taken, 
and dismounting our steeds, commenced ascending on foot. The way was very steep, and the day so 
warm, that we had to-halt often to take breath. As we approached the summit, the trees were all of a 
dwarfish growth, and twisted and gnarled by the storms of that high region. There were, also, a few 
blackberry hushes, bearing their fruit long after the season had passed below. A few minutes longer 
brought us to where the trees ceased to grow ; but a huge mass of rocks, piled wildly on the top of each 
other, finished the termination of the peak. Our path lay for some distance around the base of it, and 
under the overhanging battlements; and rather descending for awhile until it led to a part of the pile, 
which could with some effort be scaled. There was no ladder, nor any artificial steps— and the only 
means of ascent was by climbing over the successive rocks. We soon stood upon the wild platform of 
one of nature's most magnificent observatories — isolated, and apparently above all things else terres- 
trial, and looking down upon, and over, a beautiful, variegated, and at the same time grand, wild, won- 
derful, and almost boundless panorama. Indeed, it was literally boundless ; for there vi'as a considerable 
haze resting upon some parts of "the world below;" so that, in the distant horizon, the earth and sky 
seemed insensibly to mingle with each other. 

I had been there before. I remember when a boy of little more than ten years old, to have been 
taken to that spot, and how my unpractised nerves forsook me at the awful sublimity of the scene. On 
this day it was as new as ever; as wild, wonderful, and sublime, as if I had never liefore looked from 
those isolated rocks, or stood on that lofty summit. On one side, towards eastern Virginia, lay a com. 
parativeiy level country, in the distance, bearing a strong resemblance to the ocean ; on the other hand, 



190 BERKELEY COUNTY. 

■were ranges of high monntains, interspersed with cultivated spots, and then terminating in piles of 
mountains, following in successive ranges, until they ^\ere lost also in the haze. Above and below, the Blue 
Ridge and AUeghanies ran off in long lines ; sometimes relieved by knolls and peaks, and in one place 
above us making a graceful curve, and then again running ofl' in a different line of direction. Very near ws 
stood the rounded top of the other peak, looking like a sullen sentinel for its neighbor. We paused in silence 
for a time. We were there almost cut off from the world below, standing where it was fearful even to 
look down. It was more hazy than at the time of my last visit, but not too much so to destroy the in- 
terest of the scene. 

There was almost a sense of pain, at the stillness which seemed to reign. We could hear the flapping 
of the wings of the hawks and buzzards, as they seemed to be gathering a new impetus after sailing 
through one of their circles in the air below us. North of us, and on the other side of the Valley of 
Virginia, were the mountains near Lexington, just as seen from that beautiful village — the Jump, North, 
and House Mountains succeeding each other ; they were familiar with a thousand associations of our 
childhood, seeming mysteriously, when away from the spot, to bring my early home before me — not in 
imagination, such as had often haunted me when I first left it to find another in the world, but in sub- 
stantial reality. Further on down the valley, and at a great distance, was the top of a large mountain, 
which was thought to be the great North Mountain, away down in Shenandoah county — I am afraid to 
say how far off. Intermediate between these mountains, and extending opposite and far above us, was 
the Valley of Virginia, with its numerous and highly cultivated farms. Across this valley, and in the 
distance, lay the remotest ranges of the Alleghany and the mountains about ; and I suppose beyond the 
White Sulphur Springs. Nearer us, and separating eastern and western Virginia, was the Blue Ridge, 
more than ever showing the propriety of its cognomen of the " backbone ;" and on which we could 
distinctly see two zigzag turnpikes, the one leading to Fincastle, and the other to Buchanan ; and over 
which latter we had travelled a few days before. With the spyglass we could distinguish the houses in 
the village of Fincastle, some twenty-five or thirty miles off, and the road leading to the town. 

Turning towards the direction of our morning's ride, we had beneath us Bedford county, with its 
smaller mountains, farms and farm-houses — the beautiful village of Liberty, the county roads, and occa- 
sionally a mill-pond, reflecting the sun like a sheet of polished silver. The houses on the hill at Lynch- 
burg, twenty-five ^r thirty miles distant, are distinctly visible on a clear day, and also Willis' Mouuta,in 
away down in Buckingham county. 

1 had often visited Bedford, and had been more or less familiar with it from childhood ; btit at our 
elevation, distances were so annihilated, and appearances so changed, that we could scarcely recognise 
the most ftimiliar objects. After some difficulty, we at length made out the residence of Dr. M., we had 
that morning left, and at that moment rendered more than usually interesting, by containing, in addition 
to the other very dear relatives, two certain ladies, who sustained a very interesting connexion with the 
doctor and myself, and one of whom had scarcely laid aside the blushes of her bridal hour. 

A little beyond this, I recognised the former residence of a beloved sister, now living in a distant 
southern state. It was the same steep hill ascending to the gate, the same grove around the house, as 
when she lived there, and the same as when I played there in my boyhood. And it was the first time I 
had seen it since the change of owners. I then saw it from the Peaks of Otter : but it touched a thou- 
sand tender cords ; and I almost wept when 1 thought, that those I once there loved were far away, 
and that the scenes of my youthful days could not return. 

Myself and companions had, some time before, gotten on different rocks, that we might not interrupt 
each other in our contemplations. I could not refrain, however, from saying to one of them, " What 
little things we are ! how fiictitious our ideas of what is extensive in territory and distance !" A splendid 
estate was about the size I could step over; and I could stand and look at the very house whence I 
used often to start in days gone by, and follow with my eye my day's journey to the spot where, wearied 
and worn down, I dismounted with the setting sun. Yet I could look over what seemed so great a space, 
with a single glance. I could also look away down the Valley of Virginia, and trace the country, and, 
in unagination, the stage-coach, as it slowly wound its way, day and night for successive days, to reach 
the termination of what I could throw my eye over in a moment. I was impressively reminded of the 
extreme littleness with which these things of earth would all appear, when the tie of life which binds 
us here is broken, and we shall be able to look back and down upon them from another world. The 
scene and place are well calculated to excite such thoughts. , 

It is said that John Randolph once spent the night on these elevated rocks, attended by no one but his 
servant ; and that, when in the morning he had witnessed the siin rising over the majestic scene, he 
tiurned to his servant, having no other to whom he could express his thoughts, and charged him, " never 
from that time to believe any one who told him there was no God." 

I confess, also, that my mind was most forcibly carried to the judgment-day ; and I could but call the 
attention of my companions to what would, probably, then b6 the sublime terror of the scene we now 
beheld, when the mountains we saw and stood upon, should all be melted down like wax ; when the 
flames should be driving over the immense expanse before us ; when the heavens over , us should be 
" passing away with a great noise ;" and when the air beneath and around us should be filled with the 
very inhabitants now dwelling and busied in that world beneath us. 



BERKELEY. 

Berkeley was formed in 1772, from Frederick. Its mean length 
is 22| miles ; mean breadth, 13 miles. The surface is much broken 
and mountainous. Back and Opequan creeks run through the county 
and empty into the Potomac. Some of the land bordering these 
streams and the Potomac River, is very fertile. Anthracite coal 
is found in the vi^estern section of this county. Population :' 1830, 
10,528; 1840, whites 8,760, slaves 1,919, free colored 293; total 



BERKELEY COUNTY. 



191 



10,972. Darksville and Gerardstown contain each from 30 to 40 
dwellings. Martinsburg, the county-seat, lies on the line of the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 169 miles nnw. of Richmond, 77 
from Washington, and 20 from Harper's Ferry. 




Central View in Martinsburg. 

It is compactly built, and contains 2 newspaper printing offices ; 
7 stores ; a market ; 1 Presbyterian, 1 Lutheran, 1 Episcopal, 1 
German Reformed, 1 Methodist, and 1 Catholic church ; and a 
population of about 1700. This town was laid out by Adam 
Stephen, Esq., and established by law in 1778, when |Jie following 
gentlemen were appointed trustees: James M'Alister, Joseph 
Mitchell, Anthony Noble, James Strode, Robert Carter Willis, 
William Patterson, and Philip Pendleton. It derived its name 
from the late Col. T. B. Martin. The Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
road passes through the village. ^ 

The public building, in the centre of the view, is the couVt-house, 
which was built a year after the formation of the county, in the 
reign of George III. The jail at this place is rarely tenanted, and 
but one individual has been sent to the penitentiary within the 
last 12 years. Traces of the road cut by Braddock's army on their 
unfortunate expedition to the west, are discernible near the town. 
In St. Clair's defeat, about 80 citizens of the county were killed. 
In the vicinity of Leetown, (in the adjoining county of Jefferson,) 
there lived within a few miles of each other, after the war of the 
revolution, three general officers of the American army — Alexan- 
dep Stephens, Horatio Gates, and Charles Lee. The will of the 
latter is now in the clerk's office, in this county. The accompany- 
ing extract from it, is in keeping with its eccentric author : 

" I desire most earnestly that I may not be buried in any church 
or church-yard, or within a mile of any Presbyterian or Anabap- 
tist meeting-house, for since I have resided in this country, I have 
kept so much bad company while living, that I do not choose to 
continue it when dead." 



192 BERKELEY COUNTY. 

General Lee's unbounded ambition led him to envy the great fame of Washington, 
and it was supposed his aim was to supersede him in the supreme command. He wrote 
a pamphlet, filled with scurrilous imputations upon the military talents of the com- 
mander-in-chief. In consequence, he was challenged by Col. Laurens, one of Wash- 
ington's aids, and was wounded in the duel which ensued. Degraded in the opinions of 
the wise and virtuous, he retired to this section of country, where, secluded from so- 
ciety, he lived in a rude hovel, without windows or plastering, or even a decent article 
of furniture, and with but few or no companions but his booiis and dogs. In 1780, 
Congress resolved that they had no further occasion for his services in the army. In 
the autumn of 1782, wearied with his forlorn situation and broken in spirits, he went to 
Philadelphia, where, in his lodgings in an obscure public-house he soon died, a martyr 
to chagrin and disappointment. In his dying moments, he was, in imagination, on the 
field of battle : the last words he was heard to utter were, " Stand by me, my brave 
grenadiers J" 

Gen. Gates, of whom the prediction of Gen. Lee was verified, 
" that his northern laurels would be covered with southern willow" 
was, after the disastrous battle of Camden, suspended from mili- 
tary command until 1782, when the great scenes of the war were 
over. Gates was one of the infamous cabal who designed to sup- 
plant Washington : but he lived to do justice to the character of 
that great man. 

After the war. Gates lived about seven years on his plantation in Virginia, the re- 
mainder of his life he passed near New York city. In 1800, he was elected to the 
legislature of that state by the anti-federal party. He died in 1806, aged 78 years. " A 
few years before his death, he generously gave freedom to his slaves, making provision 
for the old and infirm, while several testified their attachment to him by remaining in 
his family. In the characteristic virtue of a planter's hospitality. Gates had no com- 
petitor, and his reputation may well be supposed to put this virtue to a hard test. He 
had a handsome person, and was gentlemanly in his manners, remarkably courteous to 
all, and carrying good humor sometimes beyond the nice limit of dignity." Both Lee 
and Gates were natives of England, and all three, Lee, Gates, and Stephens, had com- 
mand of Virginia troops. 

Many of the early settlers of the county were Scotch-Irish, who 
were Presbyterians. " It is said that the spot where Tuscarora 
meeting-house now stands, is the first place where the gospel was 
publicly preached and divine service performed, west of the Blue 
Ridge. This was, and still remains, a Presbyterian edifice. Mr. 
Semple, in his history of the Virginia Baptists, states that in the 
year 1754, Mr. Stearns, a preacher of this denomination, with 
several others, removed from New England. ' They halted first 
at Opequon, in Berkeley county, Va., where he formed a Baptist 
church, under the care of the Rev. John Gerard.' This was 
probably the first Baptist church founded west of the Blue 
Ridge." 

There is an interesting anecdote, related by Kercheval, in his account of Indian in- 
cursions and massacres in this region, of a young and beautiful girl, named Isabella 
Stockton, who was taken prisoner in the attack on Neally's fort, and carried and sold 
to a Canadian in Canada. A young Frenchman, named Plata, becoming enamored 
with her, made proposals of matrimony. This she declined, unless her parents' con- 
sent could be obtained — a strong proof of her filial affection and good sense. The 
Frenchman conducted her home, readily believing that his generous devotion and at- 
tachment to the daughter would win their consent. But the prejudges then existing 
against the French, made her parents and friends peremptorily reject his overtures. Isa- 
bella then agreed to elope with him, and mounting two of her father's horses, they fled. 



BROOKE COUNTY. 193 

but were overtaken by her two brothers in pursuit, by whom she was forcibly torn from 
her lover and protector and carried back to her parents, while the poor Frenchman was 
warned that his life should be the forfeit of any farther attempts. 



The Hon. Felix Grundy was bom on the 11th of Sept., 1777, in a log house on 
Sleepy Creek, in this county. His father was a native of England. When Felix waa 
but two years of age, his family removed to what is now Brownsville, Fenn., and in 
1780 to Kentucky, where he lived from childhood to maturity, and in 1807 or 1808, re- 
moved to Tennessee. 

Mr. Grundy was one of the most distinguished lawyers and statesmen of the western 
states. When in the councils of the nation, he had but few superiors. He was always 
a zealous and most efficient supporter of the democratic party. " His manners were 
amiable, his conversation instructive, abounding in humor and occasionally sarcastic 
His cheerful disposition gained him friends among his political opponents, and rendered 
him the delight of the domestic circle. His morals were drawn from the pure fountain 
of Christianity, and, while severe with himself, he was charitable to others. Integrity 
and justice controlled his transactions with his fellow-men." 



" Col. Crawford emigrated from Berkeley county in 1768, with his family, to Penn- 
sylvania. He was a captain in Forbes' expedition, in 1758. He was the intimate 
friend of Washington, who was frequently an inmate of his humble dwelling, during his 
visits to the then west, for the purpose of locating lands and attending to public busi- 
ness. Col. Crawford was one of the bravest men on the frontier, and often took the 
lead in parties against the Indians across the Ohio. His records and papers were never 
preserved, and very little else than a few brief anecdotes remain to perpetuate his fame. 
At the commencement of the Revolution, he raised a regiment by his own exertions, 
and held the commission of colonel in the continental army. In 1782, he accepted, 
with great reluctance, the command of an expedition to ravage the Wyandott and Mo- 
ravian Indian towns on the Muskingum. On this expedition, at the age of 50, he was 
taken prisoner, and put to death by the most excruciating tortures." 



BRAXTON. 

Braxton was formed in 1836, from Lewis, Kanawha, and Nicho- 
las, and named from Carter Braxton, one of the signers of the 
Declaration of American Independence : it is about 45 miles long, 
with a mean width of 20 miles. It is watered by Elk and Little 
Kanawha Rivers, and their branches. The country is rough, but 
well watered, and fertile. Pop. 1840, whites 2,509 : slaves 64 
free col'd. 2 ; total, 2,575. 

Sutton, the county-seat, on Elk River, 289 miles w. of Rich- 
mond, is a small village ; the only public buildings being those 
belonging to the county. The locality called Bulltown, where 
there is a post-office, was so named from the fact that about sixty 
years since, it was the residence of a small tribe of Indians, the 
name of whose chief was Captain Bull. 



BROOKE. 

Brooke was formed from Ohio co., in 1797. It is the most north- 
erly county in the state, and is a portion of the narrow neck of land 
lying between Pennsylvania and the Ohio River called the " pan- 
handle." Its mean length is 31 miles, mean breadth 6 1-2. The sur- 

25 



194 



BROOKE COUJSTY. 



face is hilly, but much of the soil is fertile. The county abounds in 
coal. Large quantities are quarried on the side hills on the Ohio. 
There is not at the present time, (Sept. 1843,) a licensed tavern in 
the county, for retailing ardent spirits, and not one distillery ; nor has 
there been a criminal prosecution for more than two years. Pop. 
1830,7,040 ; 1840, whites 7,080, slaves 91, free col'd. 77 ; total, 7,948. 
Fairview, or New Manchester, lies on the Ohio, 22 miles n. of 
Wellsburg, on an elevated and healthy situation. It contains about 
25 dwellings. The churches are Presbyterian and Methodist. 
Holliday's Cove is a long and scattering village, about 7 miles 
above Wellsburg, in a beautiful and fertile valley, of a semi-cir- 
cular form. It contains 1 Union church, 1 Christian Disciples' 
church, an academy, and about 60 dwellings. Flour of a superior 
quality is manufactured at the mills on Harmon's Creek, in this 
valley. Bethany is beautifully situated, 8 miles, e. of Wellsburg. 
It contains a few dwellings only. It is the residence of Dr. Alex- 
ander Campb'fell, the founder of the denomination generally known 
as " the Campbellite Baptists :" a name, however, wlMch they 
themselves do not recognise, taking that of " Disciples, or christian 
Baptists." 




Bethany College, Brooke County. 

Bethany College was founded by Dr. Alexander Campbell, in 
1841. Its instructors are the president, (Dr. Campbell,) and 4 pro- 
fessors. The institution is flourishing, numbering something like 
a hundred pupils, including the preparatory department. The 
buildings prepared for their reception are spacious and conve- 
nient. 

The following historical sketch of " the Disciples of Christ," with 
a view of their religious opinions, is from Hayward's Book of Re- 
ligions : 



BROOKE COUNTY. 195 

The rise of this society, if we only look back to the drawing of the lines of demarcation between it and 
other professors, is of recent origin. About the commencement of the present century, the Bible alone, 
without any human addition in the form of creeds or confessions of faith, began to be preached by many 
distinguished ministers of different denominations, both in Europe and America. 

With various success, and with many of the opinions of the various sects imperceptibly carried with 
them from the denominations to which they once belonged, did the advocates of the Bible cause plead 
for the union of Christians of every name, on the broad basis of the apostles' teaching. But it was not 
until the year 1823 that a restoration of the original gospel and order of things , began to be advocated in 
a periodical edited by Alexander Campbell, of Bethany, Virginia, entitled " The Christian Baptist." 

He and his father, Thomas Campbell, renounced the Presbyterian system, and were immersed, in the 
year 1812. They, and the congregations which they had formed, united with the Redstone Baptist As- 
sociation, protesting against all human creeds as bonds of union, and professing subjection to the Bible 
alone. This union took place in the year 1813. But, in pressing upon the attention of that society and 
the public the all-sufficiency of the sacred Scriptures for every thing necessary to the perfection of 
Christian character, — whether in the private or social relations of life, in the church, or in the world, — 
they began to be opposed by a strong creed-party in that association. After some ten years' debating and 
contending for the Bible alone, and the apostles' doctrine, Alexander Campbell, and the church to which 
he belonged, united with the Mahoning association, in the Western Reserve of Ohio ; that association 
being more favorable to his views of reform. 

In his debates on the subject and action of baptism with Mr. Walker, a seceding minister, in the year 
1820, and with Mr. M'Calla, a Presbyterian minister of Kentucky, in the year 1823, his views of reforma- 
tion began to be developed, and were very generally received by the Baptist society, as far as these works 
were read. 

But in his " Christian Baptist," which began July 4, 1823, his views of the need of reformation were 
more fully exposed ; and, as these gained ground by the pleading of various ministers of the Baptist de- 
nomination, a party in opposition began to exert itself, and to oppose the spread of what they were 
pleased to call heterodoxy. But not till after great numbers began to act upon these principles, was there 
any attempt towards separation. After the Mahoning association appointed Mr. Waiter Scott, an evan- 
gelist, in the year 1827, and when great numbers began to be immersed into Christ, under his labors, and 
new churches began to be erected by him and other laborers in the field, did the Baptist associations be- 
gin to declare non-fellowship with the brethren of the reformation. Thus, by constraint, not of choice, 
they were obliged to form societies out of those communities that split, upon the ground of adherence to 
the apostles' doctrine. The distinguishing characteristics of their views and practices are the foUowr 
ing:— 

They regard all the sects and parties of the Christian world as having, in greater or less degree, de- 
parted from the simplicity of faith and manners of the first Christians, and as forming what the apostle 
Paul calls " the apostacy." This defection they attribute to the great varieties of speculation and meta- 
physical dogmatism of the countless creeds, formularies, liturgies, and books of discipline, adopted and 
inculcated as bonds of union, and platforms of communion in all the parties which have sprung from the 
Lutheran reformation. The effect of these synodical covenants, conventional articles of belief, and rules 
of ecclesiastical polity, has been the introduction of a new nomenclature, — a human vocabulary of reli- 
gious words, phrases, and technicalities, which has displaced the style of the living oracles, and affixed 
to the sacred diction ideas wholly unknown to the apostles of Christ. 

To remedy and obviate these aberrations, they propose to ascertain from the Holy Scriptures, accord- 
ing to the commonly received and well-established rules of interpretation, the ideas attached to the lead- 
ing terms and sentences found in tlie Holy Scriptures, and then to use the words of the Holy Spirit in the 
apostolic acceptation of them. 

By thus expressing the ideas communicated by the Holy Spirit, in the terms and phrases learned from 
the apostles, and by avoiding the artificial and technical language of scholastic theology, they propose to 
restore a pure speech to the household of faith ; and, by accustoming the family of God to use the lan- 
guage and dialect of the Heavenly Father, they expect to promote the sanctification of one another through 
the truth, and to terminate those discords and debates which have always originated from the words 
which man's wisdom teaches, and from a reverential regard and esteem for the style of the great masters 
of polemic divinity ; believing that speaking the same things in the same style, is the only certain way 
to thinking the same things. 

They make a very marked difference between faith and opinion ; between the testimony of God and 
the reasonings of men ; the words of the Spirit and human inferences. Faith in the testimony of God, 
and obedience to the commandments of Jesus, are their bond of union, and not an agreement in any ab- 
stract views or opinions upon what is written or spoken by divine authority. Hence all the speculations, 
questions, debates of words, and abstract reasonings, found in human creeds, have no place in their reli- 
gious fellowship. Regarding Calvinism and Arminianism, Trinitarianism and Unitarianism, and all the 
opposing theories of religious sectaries, as extremes begotten by each other, they cautiously avoid them, 
as equidistant from the simplicity and practical tendency of the promises and precepts, of the doctrine 
and facts, of the exhortations and precedents, of the Christian institution. 

They look for unity of spirit and the bonds of peace in the practical acknowledgment of one faith, one 
Lord, one immersion, one hope, one body, one Spirit, one God and Father of all; not in unity of opinions, 
nor in unity of forms, ceremonies, or modes of worship. 

The Holy Scriptures of both Testaments they regard as containing revelations from God, and as all 
necessary to make the man of God perfect, and accomplished for every good word and work ; the New 
Testament, or the living oracles of Jesus Christ, they understand as containing the Christian religion ; the 
testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they view as illustrating and proving the great proposi- 
tion on which our religion rests, viz., that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the only begotten and well- 
beloved Son of God, and the only Saviour of the world ; the Acts of the Apostles as a divinely authorized 
narrative of the beginning and progress of the reign or kingdom of Jesus Christ, recording the full develop- 
ment of the gospel by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven, and the procedure of the apostles in setting 
up the Church of Christ on earth ; the Epistles as carrying out and applying the doctrine of the apostles 
to the practice of individuals and congregations, and as developing the tendencies of the gospel in the 
behavior of its professors ; and all as forming a complete standard of Christian faith and morals, adapted 
to the interval between the ascension of Christ and his return with the kingdom which he has received 
from God ; the Apocalypse, or Revelation of Jesus Christ to John, in Patmos, as a figurative and pros- 
pective view of all the fortunes of Christianity, from its date to the return of the Saviour. 

Every one who sincerely believes the testimony which God gave of Jesus of Nazareth, saying, "This 
is my Son, the beloved, in whom I delight," or, in other words, believes what the evangelists and apos- 
tles have testified concerning him, from his conception to his coronation in heaven as Lord of all, and 



196 



BROOKE COUNTY. 



who is willing to obey him in every thing, they regard as a proper subject of immersion, and no one else. 
They consider immersion into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, after a public, sincere, and 
intelligent confession of the faith in Jesus, as necessary to admission to the privileges of the kingdom of 
the Messiah, and as a solemn pledge, on the part of Heaven, of the actual remission of all past sins, and 
of adoption into the family of God. 

The Holy Spirit is promised only to those who believe and obey the Saviour. No one is taught to ex- 
pect the reception of that heavenly Monitor and Comforter, as a resident in his heart, till he obeys the 
gospel. 

Thus, while they proclaim faith and repentance, or faith and a change of heart, as preparatory to im- 
mersion, remission, and the Holy Spirit, they say to all penitents, or all those who believe and repent of 
their sins, as Peter said to the first audience addressed after the Holy Spirit was bestowed, after the glori- 
fication of Jesus, " Be immersed, every one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus, for the remission of 
sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." They teach sinners that God commands all men, 
everywhere, to reform, or turn to God ; that the Holy Spirit strives with them, so to do, by the apostles 
and prophets ; that God beseeches them to be reconciled, through Jesus Christ ; and that it is the duty of 
all men to believe the gospel, and turn to God. 

The immersed believers are congregated into societies, according to their propinquity to each other, and 
taught to meet every first day of the week, in honor and commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus, and 
to break the loaf, which commemorates tiie death of the Son of God, to read and hear the living oracles, 
to teach and admonish one another, to unite in all prayer and praise, to contribute to the necessities of 
saints, and to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. 

Every congregation chooses its own overseers and deacons, who preside over and administer the affairs 
of the congregations ; and every church, either from itself, or in cooperation with others, sends out, as 
opportunity offers, one or more evangelists, or proclaimers of the word, to preach the word, and to immerse 
those who believe, to gather congregations, and to extend the knowledge of salvation where it is necessary, 
as far as their means allow. But every church regards these evangelists as its servants ; and, therefore, 
they have no control over any congregation, each congregation being subject to its own choice of presi 
dents or elders, whom they have appointed. Perseverance in all the work of faith, labor of love, and pa- 
tience of hope, is inculcated, by all the disciples, as essential to admission into the heavenly kingdom. 

Such are the prominent outlines of the faith and practices of those who wish to be known as the Disci- 
ples of Christ ; but no society among them would agree to make the preceding items either a confession of 
faith or a standard of practice, but, for the information of those who wish an acquaintance with them, are 
willing to give, at any time, a reason for their faith, hope, and practice. 




View of Wellshurg, Brooke County. 

Wellsburg, the seat of justice for the county, is beautifully situated 
on the Ohio River, 337 miles from Richmond and 16 above Wheeling-. 
It is a thriving, business place, and contains 9 mercantile stores, 2 
academies, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Methodist, 1 Christian Baptist, and 1 
Episcopal church, 1 w^hite flint-glass works, 1 glass-cutting establish- 
ment, 1 paper-mill, 1 large cotton factory, 2 extensive potteries, 1 
steam savi^-mill, 5 large warehouses, 1 newspaper printing office, 6 
extensive flouring-mills in it and the vicinity, 1 woollen factory, a 
branch of the N. W. Va. Bank, and a population of over 2,000. 
Inexhaustible beds of stone-coal abound on all sides of the place, 
which is furnished at a few cents per bushel to the numerous manu- 



BROOKE COUNTY. 197 

factories located here. About 50,000 barrels of flour are annually 
exported from here to New Orleans, in steam and flat boats. 

Wellsburg was laid out in 1789, by Charles Prather, the original 
proprietor, from whom it was named Charleston. There being 
two other towns in the state of a similar name, it was afterwards 
changed to its present name from Alexander Wells, who built a 
flour warehouse at the point, the first ever erected on the Ohio. 
The first settlers came before the revolution : they were three 
brothers, Isaac, George, and Friend Cox, who built a fort, as a 
protection against the Indians, about a mile above the village. 
Most of the early settlers were from New England. The inhabit- 
ants in the town and vicinity, at an early date, whose names are 
recollected, were Wm. M'Farland, Capt. Oliver Brown, Capt. Sam- 
uel Brown, Dr. Joseph and Philip Dodridge, James and Thomas 
Marshall, Major M'Mahon, who was killed in Wayne's campaign, 
Samuel Brady, the famous Indian hunter, James and Hezekiah 
Griffeth, Isaac Reeves, and James Perry. About a mile below 
town, on the river, at a place now called Indian Side, a Mrs. Buskirk 
was killed and scalped by the Indians. The Mingo tribe of Indians 
had a settlement three miles above Wellsburg, on the opposite 
side of the river. 

Philip Dodridge, who died at Washington, in 1832, while a 
member of Congress, was from Wellsburg. He was scarcely less 
celebrated in western Virginia, for his eloquence and splendid 
talents, than was Patrick Henry, in his day, in the oldest portions 
of the state. Dr. S. P. Hildreth, in the American Pioneer, has 
given the subjoined sketch : 

Mr. Dodridge, as is well known to the early inhabitants of western Pennsylvania 
and Virginia, was for many years one of the most noted men in that region, for his 
splendid talents at the bar ; and has probably never been excelled, if he has been 
equalled, for his discrimination in fathoming the depths of an intricate case, or his 
powerful and logical reasoning in unfolding it. His father was among the earliest set- 
tlers of northwestern Virginia, in the vicinity of what was then called Charleston, but now 
Wellsburg. His constitution being not very robust, at the age of sixteen or eighteen years 
he was taken from the plough, put to school, and commenced the study of Latin. His 
vigorous mind drank in knowledge with the rapidity of thought, or as a dry sponge absorbs 
water. It soon became a habit with him to exercise his memory, in changing the com- 
mon conversation around him into the idiom of his studies ; and following his father in 
his evening and morning devotions, he soon learned to render his prayers into very good 
Latin, and to converse with his teacher fluently. This close application to his books, 
although it invigorated his mental powers, yet enfeebled his body, and it became neces- 
sary for a while to suspend his studies. At this period, the region in which he lived had 
become so much improved as to afford considerable surplus produce beyond the wants 
of the inhabitants, the only market for which was to be found on the Mississippi River 
or at New Orleans. Some of his cousins, young men of his own age, having loaded a 
boat with flour, invited him to go with them, and recruit his enfeebled frame by a 
voyage to the south. Nothing very interesting occurred until they reached Natchez, 
at that time in the possession of the Spaniards. They were very strict in their police, 
forbidding any strangers or boatmen to go up into the town, seated on a high bluff, 
without a written permission from the commandant or governor of the place. Young 
Dodridge feeling the ill effects of confinement to the narrow limits of the boat, and that 
he needed exercise, determined to take a walk and visit the town on the hill. He had 
ascended about half way, when he was met by a well-dressed man, who accosted him 
in the Spanish language. Dodridge did not fully understand him, but thought it similai 
to the Latin, and answered him in that tongue. It so happened that the individual who 



198 BROOKE COUNTY. 

addressed him was no less a personage than the governor of Natchez, and was weti 
versed in the Latin, having been hberally educated in Spain. They soon fell into a 
very familiar and animated discourse, without Philip's once suspecting the station of 
his new acquaintance. Learning that he had visited the Mississippi country on account 
of his delicate health, and that he was now walking for exercise, after long confinement 
to the boat, and withal astonished and delighted to have discovered so learned a man in 
an up-country boatman, he invited him to his house. The sprightly wit and uncommon 
intellect of the young stranger soon won his whole heart, and interested the Spanish 
commandant deeply in his welfare. His admiration was not the less excited, from 
having pointed out to him on a large map of the western country, which hung against the 
wall, the spot near the head of the Ohio River, where he was born, and from whence he 
departed on the present voyage. While thus agreeably engaged, a black servant drove up 
to the door with a neat Spanish carriage and pair of horses, accompanied with an invitation 
from the governor to step in and ride as far as he pleased. With many thanks, not the 
less acceptable to his benefactor from their being clothed in the Latin tongue, Philip 
accepted the offered kindness, and extended liis ride to some distance around the suburbs 
of Natchez. When about to depart, he was invited to call every day as long as he re- 
mained, and the carriage and servant should be ready for his service. This pleasing in- 
tercourse was continued for about a week ; and when he finally took his leave, the 
governor gave him letters of introduction to several of the first men in New Orleans, 
accompanied with many flattering expressions of his admiration for his uncommon ac- 
quirements, and the pleasure his acquaintance- had afforded him ; thus demonstrating 
the homage that is ever paid by the wise and good to learning and worth, even when 
accompanied with poverty and among strangers. His companions looked with wonder and 
astonishment at the gracious reception and attention paid to their cousin by the governor, 
while they were barely allowed to step on shore, and not suffered to leave the vicinity 
of the landing. Philip laughingly told them it was all owing to his good looks, which 
they could hardly believe, as in this particular they were decidedly superior to their 
cousin. On reaching New Orleans, his letters procured him ready admission to the 
tables and the society of the most prominent men in the city ; and the few weeks he staid 
there were passed in a round of amusements, freely bestowed by the hospitable Span- 
iards. At his departure they loaded him with their good wishes and assurances, that 
they should never forget his name, or the pleasure they had received from the brilliant 
sallies of his humor and wit. 

The Rev. Dr. Joseph Dodridge, a brother of the above, was an 
Episcopal clergyman, in Wellsburg. He was the author of the 
work, entitled, " Notes on the settlement and Indian Wars of the 
western parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania, from the year 1763 
until the year 1783, inclusive, together with a view of the state 
of society and manners of the first settlers of that country." 
From this interesting and graphic volume, we have, in our work, 
made several extracts. We here present the reader with his de- 
scription of the weddings among the early pioneers : 

For a long time after the first settlement of this country, the inhabitants in general 
married young. There was no distinction of rank, and very little of fortune. On these 
accounts the first impression of love resulted in marriage ; and a family establishment 
cost but a little labor, and nothing else. A description of a wedding, from the beginning 
to the end, will serve to show the manners of our forefathers, and mark the grade of 
civilization which has succeeded to their rude state of society in the course of a few 
years. At an early period, the practice of celebrating the marriage at the house of the 
bride began, and, it should seem, with great propriety. She also had the choice of the 
priest to perform the ceremony. 

A wedding engaged the attention of a whole neighborhood ; and the froHc was an- 
ticipated by old and young with eager expectation. This is not to be wondered at, when 
it is told that a wedding was almost the only gathering which was not accompanied 
with the labor of reaping, log-rolling, building a cabin, or planning some scout or 
campaign. 

In the morning of the wedding-day, the groom and his attendants assembled at the 
Jiouse of his father, for the purpose of reaching the mansion of his bride by noon, which 



BROOKE COUNTY. 199 

was the usual time for celebrating the nuptials, which for certain must take place before 
dinner 

Let the reader imagine an assemblage of people, without a store, tailor, or mantua- 
maker, within a hundred miles ; and an assemblage of horses, without a blacksmith or 
saddler within an equal distance. The gentlemen dressed in shoe-packs, moccasins, 
leather breeches, leggins, linsey hunting-shirts, and all home-made. The ladies dressed 
in linsey petticoats, and linsey or linen bed-gowns, coarse shoes, stockings, handker- 
chiefs, and buckskin gloves, if any. If there were any buckles, rings, buttons, or ruf- 
fles, they were the relics of old times ; family pieces, from parents or grand-parents. 
The horses were caparisoned with old saddles, old bridles ar halters, and pack-saddles, 
with a bag or blanket thrown over them ; a rope or string as often constituted the girth, 
as a piece of leather. 

The march, in double file, was often interrupted by the narrowness and obstructions 
of our horse-paths, as they were called, for we had no roads ; and these difficulties 
were often increased, sometimes by the good, and sometimes by the ill-will of neighbors, 
by falling trees, and tying grape-vines across the way. Sometimes an ambuscade was 
formed by the wayside, and an unexpected discharge of several guns took place, so as 
to cover the wedding-party with smoke. Let the reader imagine the scene which fol- 
lowed this discharge ; the sudden spring of the horses, the shrieks of the girls, and the 
chivalric bustle of their partners to save them from falling. Sometimes, in spite of all 
that could be done to prevent it, some were thrown to the ground. If a wrist, elbow, 
or ankle happened to be sprained, it was tied with a handkerchief, and little more was 
thought or said about it. 

Another ceremony commonly took place before the party reached the house of the 
bride, after the practice of making whiskey began, which was at an early period ; when 
the party were about a mile from the place of their destination, two young men would 
single out to run for the bottle ; the worse the path, the rnore logs, brush, and deep 
hollows, the better, as these obstacles afforded an opportunity for the greater display 
of intrepidity and horsemanship. The English fox-chase, in point of danger to the 
riders and their horses, is nothing to this race for the bottle. The start was announced 
by an Indian yell ; logs, brush, muddy hollows, hill and glen, were speedily passed by 
the rival ponies. The bottle was always filled for the occasion, so that there was no 
use for judges ; for the first who reached the door was presented with the prize, with 
which he returned in triumph to the company. On approaching them, he announced 
his victory over his rival by a shrill whoop. At the head of the troop, he gave the 
bottle first to the groom and his attendants, and then to each pair in succession to the 
rear of the line, giving each a dram ; and then putting the bottle in the bosom of his 
hunting- shirt, took his station in the company. 

The ceremony of the marriage preceded the dinner, which was a substantial back- 
woods feast, of beef, pork, fowls, and sometimes venison and bear-meat, roasted and 
boiled, with plenty of potatoes, cabbage, and other vegetables. During the dinner the 
greatest hilarity always prevailed, although the table might be a large slab of timber, 
hewed out with a broadaxe, supported by four sticks set in auger-holes ; and the furni- 
ture, some old pewter dishes and plat-es ; the rest, wooden bowls and trenchers ; a few 
pewter spoons, much battered about the edges, were to be seen at some tables. The 
rest were made of horns. If knives were scarce, the deficiency was made up by the 
scalping-knives, which were carried in sheaths suspended to the belt of the hunting-shirt- 

After dinner the dancing commenced, and generally lasted till the next morning. 
The figures of the dances were three and four-handed reels, or square setts and jigs. 
The commencement was always a square four, which was followed by what was called 
jigging it off; that is, two of the four would single out for a jig, and were followed by 
the reirfaining couple. The jigs were often accompanied with what, was called cutting 
out ; that is, when either of the parties became tired of the dance, on intimation the 
place was supplied by some one of the company without any interruption of the dance. 
In this way a dance was often continued till the musician was heartily tired of hiS' 
situation. Towards the latter part of the night, if any of the company, through weari- 
ness, attempted to conceal themselves, for the purpose of sleeping, they were hunted 
up, paraded on the floor, and the fiddler ordered to play, " Hang out till to-morrow 
morning." 

About mne or ten o'clock, a deputation of the young ladies stole off the bride, and 
put her to bed. In doing this, it frequently happened that they had to ascend a ladder 
instead of a pair of stairs, leading from the dining and ball-room to the loft, the floor 
of which was made of clapboards, lying loose, and without nails. As the foot of the 
ladder was commonly behind the door, which was purposely opened for the occasion. 



200 BROOKE COUNTY. 

and its rounds at the inner ends were well hung with hunting-shirts, petticoats, and 
other articles of clothing, the candles being on the opposite side of the house, the exit 
of the bride was noticed but by few. This done, a deputation of young men in like 
manner stole off the groom, and placed him snugly by the side of his bride. The dance 
still continued ; and if seats happened to be scarce, which was often the case, every 
young man, when not engaged in the dance, was obliged to offer his lap as a seat for 
one of the girls ; and the offer was sure to be accepted. In the midst of this hilarity 
the bride and groom were not forgotten. Pretty late in the night, some one would re- 
mind the company that the new couple must dtand in need of some refreshment ; black 
Betty, which was the name of the bottle, was called for, and sent up the ladder ; but 
sometimes black Betty did not go alone. I have many times seen as much bread, beef, 
pork, and cabbage, sent along with her, as would afford a good meal for half a dozen 
hungry men. The young couple were compelled to eat and drink, more or less, of 
whatever was offered them. 

It often happened that some neighbors or relations, not being asked to the wedding, 
took offence ; and the mode of revenge adopted by them on such occasions, was that of 
cutting off the manes, foretops, and tails of the horses of the wedding company. 

On returning to the infare, the order of procession, and the race for black Betty, was 
the same as before. The feasting and dancing often lasted for several days, at the end 
of which the whole company were so exhausted with loss of sleep, that several days 
rest were requisite to fit them to return to their ordinary labors. 

Should I be asked why I have presented this unpleasant portrait of the rude manners 
of our forefathers — I in my turn would ask my reader, why are you pleased with the his- 
tories of the blood and carnage of battles ? Why are you delighted with the fictions 
of poetry, the novel, and romance ? I have related truth, and only truth, strange as it 
may seem. I have depicted a state of society and manners which are fast vanishing 
from the memory of man, with a view to give the youth of our country a knowledge 
of the advantages of civilization, and to give contentment to the aged, by preventing 
them from saying, " that former times were better than the present." 

Capt. Samuel Brady resided at one time at Wellsburg. He was 
tall, rather slender, and very active, and of a dark complexiop. 
When in the forest, engaged in war or hunting, he usually wore, 
instead of a hat, a black handkerchief bound around his head. 

He bore towards the Indians an implacable hatred, in consequence of the murder of 
his father and brother by them, and took a solemn oath of vengeance. Gen. Hugh 
Brady, of the U. S. army, is either a brother or nephew of him. He was at the siege 
of Boston; a lieutenant at the massacre of Paoli; and in 1779-80-81, while Gen. 
Broadhead held command at Fort Pitt, was captain of a company of rangers. To fully 
detail his adventures would require a volume, and we have space but for a few anecdotes, 
drawn from various sources, illustrative of his courage and sagacity, 

A party of Indians having made an inroad into the Sewickly settlement, and com- 
mitted barbarous murders and carried off some prisoners, Brady set off in pursuit with 
only five men and his pet Indian. He came up with them, and discovered they were en- 
camped on the banks of the Mahoning. Having reconnoitred their position, Brady returned 
to and posted his men, and in the deepest silence all awaited the break of day. When 
it appeared, the Indians arose and stood around their fires ; exulting, doubtless, in the 
scalps they had taken, the plunder they had acquired, and the injury they had inflicted 
on their enemies. Precarious joy — short-lived triumph ! The avenger of blood was 
beside them ! At a signal given, seven rifles cracked, and five Indians were dead ere they 
fell. Brady's well-known war-cry was heard, his party was among them, and their guns 
(mostly empty) were all secured. The remaining Indians instantly fled and disappeared. 

Brady being out with his party, on one occasion had reached Slippery Rock Creek, 
a branch of the Beaver, without seeing signs of Indians. Here, however, he came on 
an Indian trail in the evening, which he followed till dark without overtaking the In- 
dians. The next morning he renewed the pursuit, and overtook them while they were 
engaged at their morning meal. Unfortunately for him, another party of Indians were 
in his rear. They had fallen upon his trail, and pursued him, doubtless, with as much 
ardor as his pursuit had been characterized by ; and at the moment he fired upon the 
Indians in his front, he was, in turn, fired upon by those in his rear. He was now be- 
tween two fires, and vastly outnumbered. Two of his men fell ; his tomahawk was 
shot from his side, and the battle-yell was given by the party in his rear, and loudly re- 
turned and repeated by those in his front. There was no time for hesitation ; no safety 



BROOKE COUNTY. 201 

itt delay ; no chance of successful defence in their present position. The brave captain 
and his rangers had to flee before their enemies, who pressed on their flying footsteps 
with no lagging speed. Brady ran towards the creek. He was known by many, if not 
all of them ; and many and deep were the scores to be settled between him and them. 
They knew the country well : he did not ; and from his running towards the creek they 
were certain of taking him prisoner. The creek was, for a long distance above and be- 
low the point he was approaching, washed in its channel to a great depth. In the cer- 
tain expectation of catching him there, the private soldiers of his party were disregarded ; 
and throwing down their guns, and drawing their tomahawks, all pressed forward to 
seize their victim. Quick of eye, fearless of heart, and determined never to be a captive 
to the Indians, Brady comprehended their object, and his only chance of escape, the 
moment he saw the creek ; and by one mighty effort of courage and activity, defeated 
the one and effected the other. He sprang across the abyss of waters, and stood, rifle 
in hand, on the opposite bank, in safety. As quick as lightning his rifle was primed ; 
for it was his invariable practice in loading to prime first. The next minute the pow- 
der-horn was at the gun's muzzle ; when, as he was in this act, a large Indian, who had 
been foremost in the pursuit, came to the opposite bank, and with the manliness of a 
generous foe, who scorns to undervalue the qualities of an enemy, said in a loud voice, 
and tolerable English, " Blady make good jump !" It may indeed be doubted whether the 
compliment was uttered in derision ; for the moment he had said so he took to his heels, 
and, as if fearful of the return it might merit, ran as crooked as a worm-fence — some- 
times leaping high, at others suddenly squatting down, he appeared no way certain that 
Brady would not answer from the lips of his rifle. But the rifle was not yet loaded. 
The captain was at the place afterwards, and ascertained that his leap was about 23 
feet, and that the Water was 20 feet deep. Brady's next effort was to gather up his 
men. They had a place designated at which to meet, in case they should happen to be 
separated ; and thither he went, and found the other three there. They immediately 
commenced their homeward march, and returned to Pittsburg about half defeated. 
Three Indians had been seen to fall from the fire they gave them at breakfast. 

In Sept., 1782, immediately after the Indians had been defeated 
in their attempt to take the fort at Wheeling, they sent 100 pick- 
ed warriors to take Rice's Fort, which was situated on Buffalo 
Creek, about 12 or 15 miles from its mouth. This fort* consisted 
of some cabins and a small blockhouse, and, in dangerous times, 
was the refuge of a few families in the neighborhood. 

* " The reader will understand by this term, not only a place of defence, but the 
residence of a small number of families belonging to the same neighborhood. As the 
Indian mode of warfare was an indiscriminate slaughter of all ages, and both sexes, it 
was as requisite to provide for the safety of the women and children as for that of the 
men. 

" The fort consisted of cabins, blockhouses, and stockades. A range of cabins com- 
monly formed one side at least of the fort. Divisions, or partitions of logs, separated the 
cabins from each other. The walls on the outside were tenor twelve feet high, the slope 
of the roof being turned wholly inward. A very few of these cabins had puncheon floors, 
the greater part were earthen. The blockhouses were built at the angles of the fort. 
They projected about two feet beyond the outer walls of the cabins and stockades. 
Their upper stories were about eighteen inches every way larger in dimension than the 
under one, leaving an opening at the commencement of the second story to prevent the 
enemy from making a lodgment under their walls. In some forts, instead of block- 
houses, the angles of the fort were furnished with bastions. A large folding gate, made 
of thick slabs, nearest the spring, closed the fort. The stockades, bastions, cabins, and 
blockhouse walls, were furnished with port-holes at proper heights and distances. The 
whole of the outside was made completely bullet-proof. 

" It may be truly said that necessity is the mother of invention ; for the whole of this 
work was made without the aid of a single nail or spike of iron ; and for this reason, 
such things were not to be had. In some places, less exposed, a single blockhouse, with 
a cabin or two, constituted the whole fort. Such places of refuge may appear very 
trifling to those who have been in the habit of seeing the formidable military garrisons 
of Europe and America ; but they answered the purpose, as the Indians had no artillery. 
They seldom attacked, and scarcely ever took one of them." — Dodridge's Notes. 

26 



202 BOTETOURT COUNTY. 

The Indians surrounded the fort at night ere they were discovered, and soon made 
an attack, which continued at intervals until 2 o'clock in the morning. In the intervals 
of the firing the Indians frequently called out to the people of the fort, " Give up, give 
up, too many Indian. Indian too big. No kill." They were answered with defiance. 
" Come on, you cowards ; we are ready for you. Show us your yellow hides and we 
will make holes in them for you." They were only six men in the fort, yet such was 
their skill and bravery, that the Indians were finally obliged to retreat with the loss of a 
number of their men. _ •inn 

" Thus was this little place defended by a Spartan band of six men, against 100 
chosen warriors, exasperated to madness by their failure at Wheeling Fort. Their names 
shall be inscribed in the list of the heroes of our early times. They were Jacob Miller, 
George Lefler, Peter Fullenweider, Daniel Rice, George Felebaum, and Jacob Lefler, 
jun. George Felebaum was shot in the forehead, through a port-hole at the second 
fire of the Indians, and instantly expired, so that in reality the defence of the place was 
made by only five men." 



BOTETOURT. 

Botetourt was formed in 1769 from Augusta, and named from 
Gov. Botetourt. Its length is 44 miles, with mean breadth of 18 
miles. The Blue Ridge forms its e. boundary, and much of the 
county is mountainous. The James River runs through the n. part. 
Much of the soil is fertile. 



Fincasile from Grove Hill. 

Fincastle, the county-seat, lies 1 75 miles west of Richmond. This 
town was established by law in 1 772, on forty acres given for the pur- 
pose by Israel Christian, and named after the seat of Lord Bote- 
tourt in England. It is compactly built in a beautiful rolling 
country. It contains 5 mercantile stores, 1 newspaper printing 
office, 2 academies ; 1 Presbyterian, 1 Baptist, 1 Episcopal, and 
1 Methodist church ; and a population of about 700. The above 
view shows the principal part of the village as it appears from 
Anderson's or Grove Hill. Th6 public building on the left is the 
Episcopal, and that on the right the Presbyterian church. The 



BOTETOURT COUNTV. 203 

North mountain, 5 miles distant, appears in the background. 
Pattonsburg and Buchanon lie immediately opposite each other, 
on the James River, 12 miles n. of Fincastle. They are connected 
together by a fine bridge, and in a general description would be 
considered as one village. They are beautifully situated in a val- 
ley, between the Blue Ridge and Purgatory mountain, at the head 
of navigation on James River, though in high water, batteaux go 
up as far as Covington in Alleghany co. These villages were in- 
corporated in 1832-3, and contain at present 1 newspaper printing 
office, a branch of the Va. bank, 5 stores, a tobacco inspection, 2 
tobacco factories ; 1 Free, 1 Presbyterian, and 1 Episcopal church ; 
and a population of about 450. Eventually the James River 
Canal will pass through here to Covington, and probably a mac- 
adamized road from Staunton to Knoxville, Tennessee, 

Dagger's Springs are situated in the northern part of the county, 
near the James River, 18 miles from Fincastle, 16 from Buchanon, 
22 from Lexington. The scenery in the vicinity is very fine. Some 
years since extensive improvements were made there for the accom- 
modation of the guests. 

" The most active mineral ingredients in the water are carbonated alkalies. In this it differs materially 
from the White and Salt Sulphur, and is more nearly assimilated in its qualities to the Red and Gray 
Sulphur. It is, however, more decidedly alkaline than either of those springs. This peculiarity will 
ever recommend it to persons subject to acidities of the stomach, and to the other concomitants of dys- 
pepsia, while the large quantity of hydrogen that it contains will render it useful in all of those com- 
plaints for which sulphur-water Is usually prescribed." 

At the small village of Amsterdam, 5 miles s. of Fincastle, there 
is a large brick church, lately built by the Dunkards. The Bun- 
kers at Amsterdam are descendants of Germans w^ho emigrated to 
Pennsylvania. The following, regarding the tenets and practices 
of this sect, is from a published account : 

The Tankers are a denomination of Seventh-Day Baptists, which took its rise in the year 1724. It was 
founded by a German, who, weary of the world, retired to an agreeable solitude, within sixty miles of 
Philadelphia, for the more free exercise of religious contemplation. Curiosity attracted followers, and his 
simple and engaging manners made them proselytes. They soon settled a little colony, called Ephrata, 
in allusion to the Hebrews, who used to sing psalms on the border of the river Euphrates. This denom- 
ination seem to have obtained their name from their baptizing their new converts by plunging. They are 
also called Tumblers, from the manner in which they perform baptism, which is by putting the person, 
while kneeling, head first under water, so as to resemble the motion of the body in the action of tumbling. 
They use the trine immersion, with laying on the hands and prayer, even whsn the person baptized is in 
the water. Their habit seems to be peculiar to themselves, consisting of a long tunic or coat, reaching 
down to their heels, with a sash or girdle round the waist, and a cap or hood hanging from the shoulders. 
They do not shave the head or beard. 

The men and women have separate habitations and distinct governments. For these purposes, they 
erected two large wooden buildings, one of which is occupied by the brethren, the other by the sisters of 
the society ; and in each of them there is a banqueting-room, and an apartment for public worship ; for 
the brethren and sisters do not meet together even at their devotions. 

They used to live chiefly upon roots and other vegetables, the rules of their society not allowing them 
flesh, except upon particular occasions, when they hold what they call a love-feast ; at which time the 
brethren and sisters dine together in a large apartment, and eat mutton, but no other meat. In each of 
their little cells they have a bench fixed, to serve the purpose of a bed, and a small block of wood for a 
pillow. They allow of marriages, but consider celibacy as a virtue. 

The principal tenet of the Tunkers appears to be this — that future happiness is only to be obtained by 
penance and outward mortifications in this life, and that, as Jesus Christ, by his meritorious sufferings, 
became the Redeemer of mankind in general, so each individual of the human race, by a life of absti- 
nence and restraint, may work out his own salvation. Nay, they go so far as to admit of works of super- 
erogation, and declare that a man may do much more than he is in justice or equity obliged to do, and that 
his superabundant works may, therefore, be applied to the salvation of others. 

This denomination deny the eternity of future punishments, and believe that the dead have the gospel 
preached to them by our Saviour, and that the souls of the just are employed to preach the gospel to those 
who have had no revelation in this life. They suppose the Jewish Sabbath, sabbatical year, and year of 
jubilee, are typical of certain periods after the general judgment, in which the souls of those who are not 
then admitted into happiness are purified from their corruption. If any, within those smaller periods, are 
so far humbled as to acknowledge the perfections of God, and to own Christ as their only Saviour, they 
are received to felicity ; while those who continue obstinate are reserved in torments, until the grand 
period, typified by the jubilee, arrives, in which all shall be made happy in the endless fruition of the 
Deity. 



204 BOTETOURT COUNTY. 

They also deny the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity. They disclaim violence, even in cases 
of self-defence, and sutfer themselves to be defrauded, or wronged, rather than go to law. Their church 
government and discipline are the same with other Baptists, except that every brother is allowed to speak 
in Ihe congregation ; and their best speaker is usually ordained to be the minister. They have deacons 
and deaconesses from among their ancient widows and exhorters, who are all licensed to use their gifts 
statedly. The Tunkers are not so rigid in their dress and manner of life as formerly ; still they retain 
the faith of their fathers, and lead lives of great industry, frugality, and purity. 

In 1761, about sixty Shawanee warriors penetrated the settle- 
ments on James River, committed several murders, and carried off 
several prisoners, among whom were Mrs. Renix and her five 
children. The Indians were overtaken in their retreat by a party 
of whites, and nine of their number killed, after which they pro- 
ceeded towards their villages without further molestation. The 
remainder of the story is given by Withers : 

In Boquet's treaty with the Ohio Indians, it was stipulated that the whites detained by them in cap- 
tivity were to be brought in and redeemed. In compliance with this stipulation, Mrs. Renix was brought 
to Staunton in 1767 and ransomed, together with two of her sons, William, the late Col. Renix, of Green- 
brier, and Robert, also of Greenbrier — Betsy, her daughter, had died on the Miami. Thomas returned in 
1783, but soon after removed, and settled on the Scioto, near Chilicothe. Joshua never came back ; he 
took an Indian wife, and became a chief among the Miamies — he amassed a considerable fortune, and 
died near Detroit in 1810. 

Hannah Dennis was separated from the other captives, and allotted to live at the Chilicothe towns. 
She learned their language, painted herself as they do, and in many respects conformed to. their manners 
and customs. She was attentive to sick persons, and was highly esteemed by the Indians, as one well 
skilled in the art of curing diseases. Finding them very superstitious, and believers in necromancy, she 
professed witchcraft, and affected to be a prophetess. In this manner she conducted herself, till she be- 
came so great a fiivorite with them that they gave her full liberty, and honored her as a queen. Not- 
withstanding this, Mrs. Dennis was always determined to effect her escape, when a favorable opportunity 
should occur ; and having remained so long with them, apparently well satisfied, they ceased to entertain 
any suspicions of such a design. 

In June, 1763, she left the Chilicothe towns, ostensibly to procure herbs for medicinal purposes, (as she 
had before frequently done,) but really to attempt an escape. As she did not return that night her inten- 
tion became suspected, and in the morning some warriors were sent in pursuit of her. In order to leave 
as little trail as possible, she had crossed the Scioto River three times, and was just getting over the fourth 
time, 40 miles below the town, when she was discovered by her pursuers. They fired at her across the 
river without effect ; but, in endeavoring to make a rapid flight, she had one of her feet severely cut by a 
sharp stone. 

The Indians then rushed across the river to overtake and catch her, hut she eluded them by crawling 
into the hollow limb of a large fallen sycamore. They searched around for her some time, frequently 
stepping on the log which concealed her, and encamped near it that night. On the next day they went oa 
to the Ohio River, but finding no trace of her, they returned home. 

Mrs. Dennis remained at that place three days, doctoring her wound, and then set off for home. She 
crossed the Ohio River, at the mouth of Great Kenawha, on a log of drift-wood, travelling only during 
the night for fear of discovery. She subsisted on roots, herbs, green grapes, wild cherries, and river mus- 
sels — and, entirely exhausted by fatigue and hunger, sat down by the side of Greenbrier River, with no 
expectation of ever proceeding further. In this situation she was found by Thomas Athol and three 
others from Clendennin's settlement, which she had passed without knowing it. She had been then 
upwards of twenty days on her disconsolate journey, alone, on foot ; but, till then, cheered with the hope 
of again being with her friends. 

She was taken back to Clendennin's, where they kindly ministered to her, till .she became so far invigor 
ated as to travel on horseback, with an escort, to Fort Young on Jackson's River, from vvhence she was 
carried home to her relations. 

Gen. Andrew Lewis resided on the Roanoke, in this county. He 
was one of the six sons of that Lewis who, with Mackey and Sai- 
ling, had been foremost in settling Augusta co., and the most dis- 
tinguished of a family who behaved so bravely in defending the 
infant settlements against the Indians. 

In Braddock's war, he was in a company in which were all his brothers, the eldest, 
Samuel Lewis, being the captain. This corps distinguished themselves at Braddock's 
defeat. They, with some other of the Virginia troops, were in the advance, and the first 
attacked by the enemy. Severed from the rest of the army, they cut their way through 
the enemy to their companions, with the loss of many men. His conduct at Major 
Grant's defeat, in his attack upon Fort Duquesne, acquired for him the highest reputa- 
tion for prudence and courage. He was at this time a major. In this action, the Scotch 
Highlanders, under Grant, were surrounded by the Indians ; when the work of death 
went on quite rapidly, and in a manner quite novel to the Highlanders, who, in all their 
European wars, had never before seen men's heads skinned. When Major Lewis was 
advancing to the relief of Grant with his 200 provincials, he met one of the Highland- 
ers uiider speedy flight, and inquiring of him how the battle was going, he said they 



BRUNSWICK COUiyTY. 205 

were " a' beaten, and he had seen Donald M'Donald up to his hunkers in mud, and a' 
the skeen af his heed." Both Lewis and Grant were made prisoners. Before Lewis 
was taken into the fort, he was stripped of all his clothes but his shirt. An elderly 
Indian insisted upon having that ; but he resisted, with the tomahawk drawn over his 
head, until a French officer, by signs, requested him to deliver it, and then took him to 
his room, and gave him a complete dress to put on. While they were prisoners, Grant 
addressed a letter to Gen. Forbes, attributing their defeat to Lewis. This letter being 
inspected by the French, who knew the falsehood of the charge, they handed it to 
Lewis. He waited upon Grant,* and challenged him. Upon his refusal to fight, he 
spat in his face in the presence of the French officers, and then left him to reflect upon 
his baseness. Major Lewis was with Washington July 4, 1754, at the capitulation of 
Fort Necessity, when, by the articles agreed upon, the garrison was to retire and return 
without molestation to the inhabited parts of the country ; and the French commander 
promised that no embarrassment should be interposed either by his own men or the 
savages. While some of the soldiers of each army were intermixed, an Irishman, ex- 
asperated with an Indian near him, " cursed the copper-colored scoundrel," and raised 
his musket to shoot him. Lewis, who had been twice wounded in the engagement, and 
was then hobbling on a staff, raised the Irishman's gun as he was in the act of firing, 
and thus not only saved the life of the Indian, but probably prevented a general massa- 
cre of the Virginia troops. He was the commander and general of the Virginia troops 
at the battle of Point Pleasant, (see Mason co.,) fought the 10th of May, 1774. In this 
campaign the Indians were driven west of the Ohio. Washington, in whose regiment 
Lewis had once been a major, had formed so high an opinion of his bravery and military 
skill, that, at the commencement of the revolutionary war, he was induced to recom- 
mend him to Congress as one of the major-generals of the American army — a recom- 
mendation which was slighted, in order to make room for Gen. Stephens. It is also 
said, that when Washington was commissioned as commander-in-chief, he expressed a 
wish that the appointment had been given to Gen. Lewis. Upon this slight in the ap- 
pointment of Stephens, Washington wrote to Gen. Lewis a letter, which is published in 
his correspondence, expressive of his regret at the course pursued by Congress, and 
promising that he should be promoted to the first vacancy. At his solicitation, Lewis 
accepted the commission of brigadier-general, and was soon after ordered to the com. 
mand of a detachment of the army stationed near Williamsburg. He commanded the 
Virginia troops when Lord Dunmore was driven from Gwynn's Island, in 1776, and 
announced his orders for attacking the enemy by putting a match to the first gun, an 
eighteen pounder, himself. 

Gen. Lewis resigned his command in 1780 to return home, being seized ill with a 
fever. He died on his way, in Bedford co., about 40 miles from his own house on the 
Roanoke, lamented by all acquainted with his meritorious services and superior qualities. 

" Gen. Lewis," says Stuart, in his Historical Memoir, " was upwards of six feet 
higli, of uncommon strength and agility, and his form of the most exact symmetry. 
He had a stern and invincible countenance, and was of a reserved and distant deport- 
ment, which rendered his presence more awful than engaging. He was a commissioner, 
with Dr. Thomas Walker, to hold a treaty, on behalf of the colony of Virginia, with the 
six nations of Indians, together with the commissioners from Pennsylvania, New York, 
and other eastern provinces, held at Fort Stanevix, in the province of New York, in the 
year 1768. It was then remarked by the governor of New York, that 'the earth 
seemed to tremble under him as he walked along.' His independent spirit despised 
sycophantic means of gaining popularity, which never rendered more than his merits ex- 
torted." 



BRUNSWICK. 

Brunswick was formed, in 1720, from Surry and Isle of Wight. 
It is nearly a square of 26 miles on a side. The southwest angle 

* This was the same Col. Grant who, in 1775, on the floor of the British Parliament, 
said that he had often acted in the same service with the Americans — that he knew 
them well, and, from that knowledge, ventured to predict " that they would never dare 
face an English army, as being destitute of every requisite to constitute good soldiers." 



206 BUCKINGHAM COUNTY. 

touches the Roanoke, and a small section is drained by that stream ; 
but the body of the county is comprised in the valleys of Meherrin 
and Nottoway Rivers and declines to the east. Large quantities 
of tobacco and corn are raised, together vv^ith some cotton. Pop. 
1830, 15,770; 1840, whites 4,978, slaves 8,805, free colored 563; 
total, 14,346. 

Lawrenceville, the county-seat, is 73 miles w. of s. from Rich- 
mond. It is a neat village, pleasantly situated on a branch of 
Meherrin River, and contains 2 churches and about 25 dwellings. 
Lewisville contains about 15 dwellings. 

In the upper end of the county, in the vicinity of Avant's and 
Taylor's creeks, have been found many Indian relics, and this por- 
tion of the county yet shows traces of having been inhabited by 
Indians. It is supposed that when the country was first settled, 
there was a frontier fort, or trading establishment, a few miles 
below Pennington's Bridge, on the Meherrin : an iron cannon now 
lies on a hill near the spot, and in the neighborhood runs a road, 
called to this day " the fort road." There are also excavations in 
the earth constructed for wolf-pits, by the early settlers. Tradi- 
tion says they were formed in the following manner : A hole was 
dug ten or twelve feet deep, small at the top, and growing wider 
on all sides as it descended, sloping inwards so much that no beast 
could climb up. Two sticks were fastened together in the middle 
at right angles ; the longer one confined to the ground, and the 
shorter — to the inner end of which was attached the bait — swing- 
ing across the middle of the pit, so that when the wolf attempted 
to seize it, he was precipitated to the bottom. 



BUCKINGHAM. 

Buckingham was formed in 1761, from Albemarle. It is 34 miles 
long, with a mean breadth of 24. The James River runs on its 
N. and w. and the Appomattox on its s. boundary. Willis' and 
Slate Rivers rise in the south part. On the margin of the streams 
the land is fertile, but the intervening ridges are frequently sterile 
and desolate, and in many sections uninhabited. The surface is 
generally level, and the only mountain of note is Willis', from 
which is an almost uninterrupted prospect over a vast extent of 
level country. The Buckingham White Sulphur Spring is 12 
miles SE. of the court-house, and there are also one or two other 
mineral springs in the county, none of which have as yet attained 
any celebrity. Buckingham is rich in minerals ; some dozen gold 
mines have been in operation, only three or four of which have 
proved profitable. Limestone found in the county is beginning to 
be used in agriculture, and iron ore abounds. Upon Hunt's Creek, 
within 2 miles of James River Canal, is an inexhaustible slate 
quarry of superior quality. The principal literary institutions of 



BUCKINGHAM COUNTY. 207 

the county are a Collegiate Institute for females, under the patron- 
age of the Methodist church, and the Slate River Academy, which 
has two professors, and is liberally supported. Tobacco, corn, 
wheat, and oats, are the principal products. Pop. 1830, 18,351; 
1840, whites 7,323, slaves 10,014, free colored 449 ; total, 18,786. 

Maysville, the county-seat, 79 miles west of Richmond, near the 
centre of the county, on Slate River, 26 miles from its junction 
with the James, is a neat village, containing 1 church, 4 stores, 
and about 200 inhabitants. New Canton contains about 40 dwell- 
ings. Curdsville, a flourishing village, has 1 Episcopal church, 6 
stores, and about 250 inhabitants. 

Peter Francisco, a soldier of the Revolution, and celebrated for his personal strength, 
lived and raised his family in Buckingham, where he died a few years since. His origin 
was obscure. He supposed that he was a Portuguese by birth, and that he was kidnap, 
ped when an infant, and carried to Ireland. He had no recollection of his parents, and 
the first knowledge he preserved of himself was in that country when a small boy. 
Hearing much of America, and being of an adventurous turn, he indented himself to a 
sea-captain for seven years, in payment for his passage. On his arrival he was sold to 
Anthony Winston, Esq., of this county, on whose estate he labored faithfully until the 
breaking out of the revolution. He was then at the age of 16, and partaking of the 
patriotic enthusiasm of the times, he asked and obtained permission of his owner to 
enlist in the continental army. At the storming of Stony-Point, he was the first sol- 
dier, after Major Gibbon, who entered the fortress, on which occasion he received a 
bayonet wound in the thigh. He was at Brandywine, Monmouth, and other battles at 
the north, and was transferred to the south under Greene, where he was engaged in the 
actions of the Cowpens, Camden, Guilford Court-House, &c. He was a very brave 
man, and possessed such confidence in his prowess as to be almost fearless. He used 
a sword havmg a blade five feet in length, which he could wield as a feather, and every 
swordsman who came in contact with him, paid the forfeit of his life. His services 
were so distinguished, that he would have been promoted to an office had he been ena- 
bled to write. His stature was 6 feet and an inch, and his weight 260 pounds. His 
complexion was dark and swarthy, features bold and manly, and his hands and feet un- 
commonly large. Such was his personal strength, that he could easily shoulder a cannon 
weighing 1100 pounds ; and our informant, a highly respectable gentleman now resid- 
ing in this county, in a communication before us, says : " he could take me in his right 
hand and pass over the room with me, and play my head against the ceiling, as though 
I had been a doll-baby. My weight was 195 pounds !" The following anecdote, illus" 
trative of Francisco's valor, has often been published : — 

" While the British army were spreading havoc and desolation all around them, by 
their plunderings and burnings in Virginia, in 1781, Francisco had been reconnoitring,. 

and while stopping at the house of a Mr. V- , then in Amelia, now Nottoway county,. 

nine of Tarleton's cavalry came up, with three negroes, and told him he was their pris' 
oner. Seeing he was overpowered by numbers, he made no resistance. Believing him 
to be very peaceable, they all went into the house, leaving him and the paymaster to- 
gether. ' Give up instantly all that you possess of value,' said the latter, ' or prepare tcy 
die.' ' I have nothing to give up,' said Francisco, ' so use your pleasure.' ' Deliver in- 
stantly,' rejoined the soldier, ' those massy silver buckles which you wear in your shoes.'' 
* They were a present from a valued friend,' replied Francisco, ' and it would grieve me' 
to part with them. Give them into your hands I never will. You have the power J 
take them, if you think fit.' The soldier put his sabre under his arm, and bent down; 
to take them. Francisco, finding so favorable an opportunity to recover his liberty, 
stepped one pace in his rear, drew the sword with force from under his arm, and in- 
stantly gave him a blow across the scull. ' My enemy,' observed Francisco, ' was 
brave, and though severely wounded, drew a pistol, and, in the same moment that he 

pulled the trigger, I cut his hand nearly off. The bullet grazed my side. Ben V " 

(the man of the house) very ungenerously brought out a musket, and gave it to one of 
the British soldiers, and told him to make use of that. He mounted the only horse they 
could get, and presented it at my breast. It missed fire. I rushed on the muzzle of 
the gun. A short struggle ensued. I disarmed and wounded him. Tarleton's troop 



208 



BUCKINGHAM COUNTY. 



of four hundred men were in sight. All was hurry and confusion, which I increased 
by repeatedly hallooing, as loud as I could, Come on, my brave boys; now's your time ; 
we will soon dispatch these few, and then attack the main body ! The wounded man 




Francisco's Encounter with Nine British Dragoons. 

[This representation of Peter Francisco's gallant action with nine of Tarleton's cavalry, in sight of a 
troop of 400 men, which took place in Amelia county, Virginia, 1781, is respectfully inscribed to him, by 
James Webster and James Warrell. — Published Dec. 1st, 1814, by James Webster of Pennsylvania.] 

flew to the troop; the others were panic struck, and fled. I seized V , and would 

have dispatched him, but the poor wretch begged for his life ; he was not only an ob- 
ject of my contempt, but pity. The eight horses that were leift behind, I gave him to 
conceal for me. Discovering Tarleton had dispatched ten more in pursuit of me, I 
made off". I evaded their vigilance. They stopped to refresh themselves. I, like an 

old fox, doubled, and fell on their rear. I went the next day to V-- for my horses ; 

he demanded two, for his trouble and generous intentions. Finding my situation dan- 
gerous, and surrounded by enemies where I ought to have found friends, I went off with 
my six horses. I intended to have avenged myself of V "■■" at a future day, but Prov- 
idence ordained I should not be his executioner, for he broke his neck by a fall from 
one of the very horses.' " 

Several other anecdotes are related of the strength and bravery of Francisco. At 
Gates' defeat at Cainden, after running some distance along a road, he took to the woods 
and sat down to rest; a British trooper came up and ordered him to surrender. With 
feigned humility, he replied he would, and added, as his musket was empty, he had no 
further use for it. He then carelessly presented it sideways, and thus throwing the sol- 
dier off his guard, he suddenly levelled the piece, and driving the bayonet through his ab- 
domen, hurled him off" his horse, mounted it, and continued his retreat. Soon he overtook 
his colonel, William Mayo, of Powhatan, who was on foot. Francisco generously dis- 
mounted and gave up the animal to his retreating officer, for which act of kindness the 
colonel subsequently presented him with a thousand acres of land in Kentucky. 

Francisco possessed strong natural sense, and an amiable disposition He was, withal, 
a companionable man, and ever a welcome visitor in the first families in this region of the 
state. He was industrious and temperate, and always advocated the part of the weak 



CABELL COUNTY. 209 

and unprotected. On occasions of outbreaks at public gatherings, he Was better in rush- 
ing in and preserving public peace, than all the conservative authorities on the ground. 
Late in life, partly through tlie influence of his friend, Chas. Yancey, Esq., he was ap. 
pointed sergeant-at-arms to the House of Delegates, in which service he died, in 1836, 
and was interred with military honors in the public burying-ground at Richmond. 



CABELL. 

Cabell was created in 1809, from Kanawha, and named from 
Wm. H. Cabell, Gov. of Va., from 1805 to 1808. It is 35 miles 
long, with a mean breadth of 20 miles. A considerable portion of 
the county is wild and uncultivated, and somewhat broken. The 
river bottoms are fertile, and settled upon. Pop. 1830, 5,884 ; 1840, 
whites 7,574, slaves 567, free colored 22 ; total, 8,163. Barbours- 
ville,the county-seat, lies on the Guyandotte river, 7 1-2 miles from 
its mouth, and 352 miles wnw. of Richmond. The turnpike, lead- 
ing from the eastern part of the state, by the great watering-place, 
to the Kentucky line, passes through this village, which contains 
about 30 dwellings. Guyandotte lies on the Ohio, at the mouth of 
the Guyandotte River. It is much the most important point of 
steamboat embarkation, as well as debarkation, in western Vir- 
ginia, with the exception of Wheeling. It is a flourishing village, 
containing 1 church, 6 or 8 stores, a steam saw-mill, and a popula- 
tion of about 800. 

Cabell county was settled at a comparatively late period. 
Thomas Hannon was one of the earliest settlers, having removed, 
in 1796, from Botetourt county to Green Bottom, about 18 miles 
above Guyandotte, when the first permanent settlement was made. 
Soon after Guyandotte was settled, at vv^hich place Thomas Buf- 
fington was one of the earliest settlers. 

A portion of the beautiful flatland of what is called Green Bot'- 
tom, lying partly in this and Mason county, a few years since, be- 
fore the plough of civilization had disturbed the soil, presented one 
of those vestiges of a city which are met with in central America, 
and occasionally in the southern and western forests of the United 
States. The traces of a regular, compact, and populous city with 
streets running parallel with the Ohio River, and crossing and in- 
tersecting each other at right angles, covering a space of nearly 
half a mile, as well as the superficial dimensions of many of the 
houses, are apparent, and well defined. Axes and saws of an 
unique form — the former of iron, the latter of copper — as well as 
other implements of the mechanic arts, have been found. These 
remains betoken a state of comparative civilization, attained by 
no race of the aborigines of this country now known to have exist- 
ed. Who they were, or whence they sprung, tradition has lost in 
the long lapse of ages. It is a singular fact, that these remains are 
rarely, if ever, found elsewhere than upon the river bottoms, or flat 
level lands. 

27 



210 CAMPBELL COUNTY. 

CAMPBELL.^^, ,,;j 

Campbell was formed from Bedford in 1784, and named in honor 
of Gen. William Campbell, a distinguished officer of the American 
revolution. In form, it approximates to a square of about 25 
miles on a side ; its surface is broken, and its soil productive. 
Staunton River runs on its s., and the James on its nvv. bound- 
ary ; both of these streams are navigable for boats far above the 
county limits, thus opening a communication w^ith Chesapeake 
Bay and Albemarle Sound. Pop. 1830, 20,330; 1840, whites 
10,213, slaves 10,045, free colored 772 ; total, 21,030. 

Besides the large and flourishing town of Lynchburg, there are 
in the county several small villages, viz. : Campbell C. H., 12 miles 
s. of Lj'^nchburg, Brookneal, Leesville, and New London. 

Lynchburg, the fifth town in population in Virginia, is situated 
on a steep declivity on the south bank of James River, in the 
midst of bold and beautiful scenery, within view of the Blue Ridge 
and the Peaks of Otter, and 116 miles westerly from Richmond. 
This town was established in October, 1786, when it was enacted 
" that 45 acres of land, the property of John Lynch, and lying 
contiguous to Lynch's Ferry, are hereby vested in John Clarke, 
Adam Clement, Charles Lynch, John Callaway, Achilles Douglass, 
William Martin, Jesse Burton, Joseph Stratton, Micajah Moor- 
man, and Charles Brooks, gentlemen, trustees, to be by them, or any 
six of them, laid off into lots of half an acre each, with convenient 
streets, and established a town by the name of Lynchburg." The 
father of the above-mentioned John Lynch was an Irish emigrant, 
and took up land here previous to the revolution. His place, then 
called Chesnut Hill, afterwards the seat of Judge Edmund Wins- 
ton, was two miles below here. At his death the present site of 
Lynchburg fell to his son John, by whose exertions the town was 
established. The original founder of Lynchburg was a member 
of the denomination of Friends, and a plain man, of strict integrity 
and great benevolence of character. He died about 20 years since, 
at a very advanced age. At the time of the formation of the town, 
there was but a single house, the ferry-house, which stood where 
the toll-house to the bridge now is. A tobacco warehouse and 2 
or 3 stores were thereupon built under the hill, and it was some 
time before any buildings were erected upon the main street. The 
growth of the place has been gradual. In 1804, a Methodist Epis- 
copal church was erected upon the site of the present one, and 
shortly after a market was established. The first Sabbath-school 
in the state was formed in the church above mentioned, in the 
spring of 1817, by George Walker, James McGehee, and John 
Thurman. The next churches built were the First Presbyterian, 
the Baptist, the Protestant Episcopal, the Protestant Methodist, 
the Second Presbyterian, and a Friends' meeting-house in the out- 
skirts of the town. The Catholic and Universalist churches were 
erected in 1843. 



CAMPBELL COHNTY. 211 

" The Lynchburg Water Works, for furnishing the town with an unfailing supply of pure and whole- 
some water, were constructed in 1828-29, under the direction of Albert Stein, Esq., engineer, at an ex- 
pense of $50,000. The height — unprecedented in this counti-y— to which it was necessary to raise the 
water, renders this one of the most interesting undertaldngs of the kind in the United States. 

" An arm of the James, formed by an island about 2 miles in length, is crossed, a short distance above 
the limits of the corporation, by a dam 10 feet high. A canal of half a mile in length conveys the water 
to the pump-house on the river bank, at the foot of 3d alley. A double forcing-pump, on the plan of De 
la Hire, worked by a large breast wheel, impels the water through the ascending pipe, which is 2000 feet 
long, to a reservoir containing 400,000 gallons, situated between 4th and 5th streets, and at the elevation 
of 253 feet above the level of the river. Fire-plugs are connected with the distributing pipes, at every in- 
tersection of the alleys with 2d and 3d streets, and afibrd an admirable security against the danger of 
fire. The height of the reservoir, above these streets, gives a jet of vi-ater by means of hose pipes, of 
from 60 to 80 feet elevation, and throws it, in bold and continuous streams, over the roofs of the highest 
houses. 

" The water-power created by the dam for the water works, is amply sufficient for working a large 
additional amount of machinery, and waits only for a clearer perception by capitalists, of the manufac- 
turing advantages of this town, to be brought into extensive use. The cheapness of labor, the abund- 
ance of provisions, and the extent and wealth of the country looking this way for supplies of domestic, 
as well as of foreign goods, unite with the vast water-power actually prepared and ready for any appli- 
cation, in inviting the attention of men of capital and enterprise to this important subject." These 
works are gradually enlarged, from year to year, to meet the wants of an increasing population. 

The annexed account of the celebration of laying the corner stone of the water works, is from a news- 
paper of that date : — 

Interesting Event. — On Saturday last, [August 23d, 1828,] an event deeply interesting to Lynchburg 
took place ; one in which the convenience, health, and safety of us all, are involved. The corner stone 
of the Lynchburo Water Works was laid — works, the magnitude of which exceed any ever attempted 
in Virginia- . . . The stone was laid with civic, masonic, and military ceremonies. About 9, a. m., the pro- 
cession was formed at the Presbyterian church, at the lower end of Blain street, in the following order : — 
The military ; the reverend clergy ; the engineer ; the members of the common council, preceded by 
the watering committee ; the judge of the General Court for the circuit, and mayor of the Corporation ; 
the recorder and aldermen; the Masonic fraternity; citizens. 

When the procession, under the directions of the marshals of the day — Major James B. Risque, Col. 
Maurice H. Langhorne, and Captains R. R. Phelps, Samuel I. Wiat, and A. M. Gilliam — reached the 
ground, the artillery and rifle companies formed a hollow square, within which were the masons, the 
adjacent banks being thronged with spectators. 

The impressive ceremonies commenced with a prayer appropriate to the occasion, by the Rev. W. S. 
Reid, followed by solemn music. The Rev. F. G. Smith then implored of the Supreme Architect of the 
Universe, a blessing on the undertaking. The Masonic fraternity proceeded to lay the corner stone ; the 
plate bears the following inscription : — 

This Stone, the foundation of a work executed by order of the common council of Lynchburg, for 
supplying the town with water, was laid under the direction of John Victor, John Thurman, John Early, 
David G. Murrell, and Samuel Claytor, by the Rt. W. Howson S. White, D.D., G. Master, and the Wor- 
shipful Maurice H. Garland, M. of Marshall Lodge, No. 39, of Free and Accepted Masons, on the 23d 
August, A.M. 5828, A.D. 1828, in presence of the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and Conmion Councilmen, 
of said Town ; the members of said Lodge ; the Artillery and Rifle Companies, commanded by Captains 
J. E. Norvell and James W. Pegram, and numerous citizens, Albon McDaniel, Esq., Mayor, John Thur- 
man, Esq., President of the Council, Albert Stein, Esq., Engineer. 

Mr. John Victor, the chairman of the watering committee, delivered an address ; after which the 
military fired a salute, and the gratified beholders returned to their homes, all, we hope, determined to 
use their efforts to carry on the work to a successful termination. We cordially unite with Mr. V. in 
saying, " Let us join hands, nothing doubting that we too can accomplish what others have so often 
done." 

We conclude this sketch of Lynchburg, by giving its statistics, 
as published in a communication to the Lynchburg Republican, in 
1843: 

The census of 1840, showed a population of upwards of five thousand. Since that time, there has 
been a considerable accession to the number of buildings ; from which we may safely assume that our 
present population reaches, if it does not exceed 6,000. The extent of the tobacco trade of Lynchburg 
may be judged of from the fact that upwards of fifteen thousand hogsheads have already been inspected 
here the present year — a number which tar exceeds all previous calculation. We have about 30 tobacco 
factories and stemmeries, giving employment to about 1000 hands ; three flouring-mills, manufacturing, 
I am told, about 20,000 barrels of flour annually ; ] cotton factory, operating 1,400 spindles ; iron found- 
ries, which consume, probably, 100 tons pig-iron annually. More than 100,000 bushels of wheat are sold 
here yearly. 300 tons bar-iron ; 200 tons pig metal, sold to the country ; 1000 tons plaster of Paris. About 
50 dry-goods and grocery stores— selling, in the aggregate, more than one million of dollars worth of goods. 
Some of our stores are so extensive and elegant, as not to suffer by a comparison with those of Philadelphia 
and New York.— 4 apothecaries and druggists ; several cabinet manufactories ; 4 saddle and harness . 
manufactories ; 10 blacksmith-shops ; several excellent hotels ; 5 jewellers' establishments • 2 printing 
offices. ' 

There are here branches of the Bank of Virginia, and the Farmer's Bank of Virginia, and also 3 Sa- 
vings' Banks. Seven flourishing Sabbath-schools, with from 700 to 1000 scholars. One debating society, 
with a library of several thousand volumes, &c. &c. &c. From the hasty view I have presented, and 
which by no means does justice to the industry and enterprise of our citizens, it will be seen that we 
have already the elements of a flourishing city. But I have said nothing of the magnificent line of canal 
now in the " full tide of successful experiment," between this place and Richmond, from which we are 
distant 147 miles by water. This splendid work, the pride and boast of Virginia, opens to Lynchburg the 
brightest era which has ever yet dawned upon her fortunes ; securing to us a safe, speedy, and cheap 
navigation for the immense produce shipped annually to Richmond and the north— and destined, as the 
writer believes, to furnish a great thorouijhfare for the countless thousands of produce and merchandise 
for the western and southwestern part of our state, as well as Tennessee, Alabama, &c. 



212 



CAMPBELL COUNTY. 



Lynch Law. — Col. Charles Lynch, a brother of the founder oi 
Lynchburg, was an officer of the American revolution. His resi- 
dence was on the Staunton, in the sw. part of this county, now 
the seat of his grandson, Chas. Henry Lynch, Esq. At that time, 
this country was very thinly settled, and infested by a lawless band 
of tories and desperadoes. The necessity of the case involved des- 
perate measures, and Col. Lynch, then a leading whig, apprehend- 
ed and had them punished, without any superfluous legal ceremo- 
ny. Hence the origin of the term " Lynch Law" This practice of 
Lynching continued years after the war, and w^as applied to many 
cases of mere suspicion of guilt, which could not be regularly prov- 
en, "In 1792," says Wirt's Life of Henry, "there were many 
suits on the south side of James River, for inflicting Lynch's law." 
At the battle of Guilford Court-House, a regiment of riflemen, rais- 
ed in this part of the state, under the command of Col. Lynch, be- 
haved with much gallantry. The colonel died soon after the close 
of the war, Charles Lynch, a governor of Louisiana, wa* bis son. 




The Old Court-House, at New London. 

New London is on the Salem turnpike, 1 1 miles sw. of Lynch- 
burg. It contains 2 churches, a classical academy, and a few 
dwellings. It was founded several years prior to the American 
revolution. About the period of the war, it was a place of con- 
siderable importance, and contained, says the Marquis de Chastel- 
lux, in his travels, " at least 70 or 80 houses." There was here 
then, an arsenal, a long wooden structure, which stood opposite 
Echol's tavern. The establishment has long since been removed 
to Harper's Ferry. There was also a long building, used as a mag- 
azine in the war, which was under the guard of some soldiers. In 
July, 1781, Cornwallis detached Tarleton to this place, for the pur- 
pose of destroying the stores and intercepting some light troops re- 
ported to be on their march to join Lafayette. But neither stores 
nor troops were found, and on the 15th, he rejoined his lordship in 
Suffolk county. Early in the war, there were several Scotch mer- 
chants largely engaged in business here. Refusing to take the 



H 

o' 

S3 



& re 
§3 






3 ■ 



3 S- 




CAMPBELL COUNTY. 213 

oath of allegiance, they were compelled to break up and leave the 
country. This, with the superior location of Lynchburg, gave a 
permanent shock to its prosperity, and it is now a broken down 
village, fast going to decay. 

New London was at first the county-seat of Lunenburg. In 
1753, on the formation of Bedford, it was made the county-seat of 
the latter. Still later, under the old district system, the superior 
court was held here. There is now standing in the town,an inter- 
esting relic of a more prosperous era — the old court-house — which, 
in its pristine days, was the scene of important events; but it is 
now dilapidated, tumbling to ruins, and is used as a barn. Hum- 
ble as this building is at present, once admiring audiences, moved 
by the magic eloquence of Patrick Henry, were assembled within 
its walls. Here it was, that he delivered his celebrated speech 
in the Johnny Hook case, the account of which is thus given by his 
biographer : 

Hook was a Scotchman, a man of wealth, and suspected of being unfriendly to the 
American cause. During the distresses of the American army, consequent on the joint 
invasion of Cornwallis and Phillips in 1781, a Mr. Venable, an army commissary, had 
taken two of Hook's steers for the use of the troops. The act had not been strictly 
legal ; and on the establishment of peace, Hook, on the advice of Mr. Cowan, a gentle- 
man of some distinction in the law, thought proper to bring an action of trespass against 
Mr. Venable, in the district court of New London. Mr. Henry appeared for the defend- 
ant, and is said to have deported himself in this cause to the inlinite enjoyment of his 
hearers, the unfortunate Hook always excepted. After Mr. Henry became animated in 
the cause, says a correspondent, he appeared to have complete control over the passions 
of his audience : at one time he excited their indignation against Hook ; vengeance was 
visible in every countenance ; again, when he chose to relax and ridicule him, the whole 
audience was in a roar of laughter. He painted the distresses of the American army, 
exposed almost naked to the rigor of a winter's sky, and marking the frozen ground 
over which they marched with the blood of their unshod feet ; where was the man, he 
said, who had an American heart in his bosom, who would not have thrown open his 
fields, his barns, his cellars, the doors of his house, the portals of his breast, to have re- 
ceived with open arms, the meanest soldier in that little band of famished patriots ? 
Where is the man ? — There he stands — but whether the heart of an American beats ia 
his bosom, you, gentlemen, are to judge. He then carried the jury, by the powers of 
his imagination, to the plains around York, the surrender of which had followed shortly 
after the act complained of: he depicted the surrender in the most glowing and noble 
colors of his eloquence — the audience saw before their eyes the humiliation and dejec- 
tion of the British, as they marched out of their trenches — they saw the triumph which 
lighted up every patriotic face, and heard the shouts of victory, and the cry of Wash- 
ington and liberty, as it rung and echoed through the American ranks, and was rever.= 
berated from the hills and shores of the neighboring river — " but, hark ! what notes of 
discord are these which disturb the general joy, and silence the acclamations of victory 
— they are the notes of John Hook, hoarsely bawling through the American camp, 
beef! beef! beef!" 

The whole audience were convulsed : a particular incident will give a better idea of 
the effect, than any general description. The clerk of the court, unable to command 
himself, and unwilling to commit any breach of decorum in his place, rushed out of tha 
court-house, and threw himself on the grass, in the most violent paroxysm of laughter, 
where he was rolling, when Hook, with very different feelings, came out for relief into 
the yard also. " Jemmy Steptoe," he said to the clerk, " what the devil ails ye, mon ?" 
Mr. Steptoe was only able to say, that he could not help it. " Never mind ye," said 
Hook, " wait till Billy Cowan gets up : he'll show him the la'." Mr. Cowan, however, 
was so completely overwhelmed by the torrent which bore upon his client, that when he 
rose to reply to Mr. Henry, he was scarcely able to make an intelligible or audible re- 
mark. The cause was decided almost by acclamation. The jury retired for form 
sake, and instantly returned with a verdict for the defendant. Nor did the effect of Mr- 
Henry's speech stop here. The people were so highly excited by the tory audacity of 



214 CAROLINE COUNTY. 

such a suit, that Hook began to hear around him a cry more terrible than that of heef; 
it was the cry of tar and feathers ; from the application of which, it is said, that nothing 
saved him but a precipitate flight and the speed of his horse. 

About half a mile n. of the village is the seat of the above 
mentioned " Jemmy Steptoe." He was clerk of Bedford 40 years : 
an intimate friend of Jefferson, who was a frequent visitor at his 
residence. He died in 1826, esteemed for his amiable and gener- 
ous disposition. 

" Poplar Forest," 3 miles ne. of New London, is the name of the seat of William 
Cobbs, Esq., which was originally the property of Jefferson, and occasionally his resi- 
dence in the sLuniner months. It is an octagonal brick edifice, built by him, on the 
same plan with Monticello, although much smaller. Its situation is commanding, 
within sight of the Blue Ridge, and the grounds around are beautifully laid out, and 
adorned with shrubbery. 

Immediately after Tarleton's incursion to Charlottesville, when JefTerson narrowly 
escaped being made prisoner, he retired with his family to Poplar Forest, where, riding 
upon his farm some time after, he was thrown from his horse and seriously injured. 
" While Mr. Jefferson was confined at Poplar Forest," says Tucker, " in consequence 
of the fall from his horse, and was in consequence incapable of any active employment, 
public or private, he occupied himself with answering the queries which Mons. De Mar- 
bois, then secretary of the French legation to the United States, had submitted to him 
respecting the physical and political condition of Virginia ; which answers were after- 
wards published by him, under the title of ' Notes on Virginia.^ When we consider 
how difficult it is, even in the present day, to get an accurate knowledge of such details 
in our country, and how much greater the difficulty must then have been, we are surprised 
at the extent of the information which a single individual had thus been enabled to ac 
quire, as to the physical features of the state — the course, length, and depth of its 
rivers ; its zoological and botanical productions ; its Indian tribes ; its statistics and 
laws. After the lapse of more than half a century, by much the larger part of it still 
gives us the fullest and most accurate information we possess of the subjects on which 
it treats. Some of its physical theories are, indeed, in the rear of modern science ; but 
they form a small portion of the book, and its general speculations are marked with that 
boldness, that utter disregard for received opinions, which always characterized him ; 
and the whole is written in a neat, flowing style, always perspicuous, and often peculiarly 
apt and felicitous." 

Jefferson's notes were printed in Paris, in 1784, soon after his arrival there as minister 
to the court of France. Says the same author: " One of the first objects which en- 
gaged his attention, was the printing his notes on Virginia. He had, for the sake of 
gratifying a few friends with copies, wished to publish them in America, but was pre- 
vented by the expense. He now found they could be printed for about a fourth of what 
he had been asked at home. He therefore corrected and enlarged them, and had 200 
copies printed. Of these he presented a few in Europe, and sent the rest to America. 
One of them having fallen into the hands of a bookseller in Paris, he had it translated 
into French, and submitted the translations to the author for revision. It was a tissue 
of blunders, of which only the most material he found it convenient to correct ; and 
it was thus printed. A London bookseller having requested permission to print the 
original, he consented, " to let the world see that it was not really so bad as the French 
translation had made it appear." 



CAROLINE. 

Caroline was formed in 1727, from Essex, King and Queen, and 
King William. It is 30 miles long by 20 broad. The Rappahannock 
flows on its north, the Pamunkey on its south boundary, and the 
Mattapony runs near its centre. The surface is broken, and the 
soil various, but the low grounds of these streams are extremely 
fertile, and admirably adapted to the culture of corn, wheat, and 



CARROL COUNTY. 215 

tobacco. Caroline was formerly divided into three parishes ; Drys- 
dale and St. Mary's, created in 1727, and St. Margaretts in 1744 ; 
in each of which a church was placed — the latter only remains. 
The Baptists are now the prevailing denomination. Pop. 1830, 
17,774; 1840, whites 6,725, slaves 9,314, free colored 774: total, 
17,813. 

The principal villages are Bowling Green and Port Royal. The 
first is situated on the main road from Fredericksburg to Richmond, 
22 miles from the former, and a short distance only e. of the rail- 
road between these two places. It is the seat of justice for the 
county, and was originally called New Hope. Its fine location, on 
a beautiful level green, has given rise to its present name. It 
contains 2 churches and about 40 dwellings. Port Royal, on the 
Rappahannock, 22 miles below Fredericksburg, is a somewhat 
larger village. It was founded in 1744, and possesses a fine har- 
bor, capable of admitting vessels drawing 11 feet of water. The 
Concord Academy is an institution in this county in excellent repute. 

Edmund Pendleton was born in this county in 1741, and died in Richmond in 1803. He was presi- 
dent of the Court of Appeals, and of the Virginia convention of 1775. He was twice appointed a mem- 
ber of Congress. In 1788 he was chosen president of the convention of Virginia which met to consider 
the adoption of the Federal constitution. When the Federal government was organized, he was selected 
by Congress to be district judge for Virginia, but declined the appointment. Wirt says " He had in a great 
measure overcome the disadvantages of an extremely defective education, and by the force of good com- 
pany, and the study of correct authors, had attained to great accuracy and perspicuity of style. . . . His 
manners were elevated, graceful, and insinuating. His person was spare, but well proportioned, and his 
countenance one of the finest in the world ; serene, contemplative, benignant ; with that expression of 
unclouded intelligence, and extensive reach, which seemed to denote him capable of anything that could 
be effected by the power of the human mind. His mind itself was of a very fine order. It was clear, 
comprehensive, sagacious, and correct; with a most acute and subtle feculty of discrimination ; a fertility 
of expedient which never could be exhausted ; a dexterity of address which never lost an advantage and 
never gave one ; and a capacity for continued and unremitting application which was perfectly invincible. 
As a lawyer, and a statesman, he had few equals and no superiors. For parliamentary management, he 
was without a rival. With all these advantages of person, manners, address, and intellect, he was also 
a speaker of distinguished eminence. He had that silver voice of which Cicero makes such frequent and 
honorable mention ; an articulation uncommonly distinct ; a perennial stream of transparent, cool, and 
sweet elocution ; and the power of presenting his arguments with great simplicity and striking effect. He 
was always graceful, argumentative, persuasive ; never vehement, rapid, or abrupt. He could instruct 
and delight ; but he had no pretensions to those high powers which are calculated to " shake the human 
soul." 

General William Woodford, a revolutionary officer of high merit, was born in Caroline. He early 
distinguished himself in the French and Indian war. Upon the assembling of the Virginia troops at 
Williamsburg in 1775, consequent upon the hostile attitude of Lord Dunraore, he was appointed colonel 
of the second regiment. In the military operations immediately subsequent, in that section of the state, 
his name is honorably mentioned in history, particularly at the battle of Great Bridge, fought Dec. 9th, 
upon which occasion he had the chief command, and gained a signal victory over the enemy. He was 
finally promoted to the command of the 1st Va. brigade, in which station he served through the war. He 
was in various actions, in one of which, the battle of Brandyvvine, he was wounded. He was made 
prisoner by the British in 1780, during the siege of Charleston, and taken to New York, where he died on 
the 13th of November of that year, in the 46th year of his age. 

Caroline was also the birth-place of Col. John Taylor, " one of the most zealous of the republican 
party," and an intimate associate of Jefferson. " He represented Virginia in the United States Senate, 
and was distinguished among the great and good men which this ancient commonwealth has produced. 
He did much towards advancing the science of agriculture in his native state, and was ever forward in 
promoting objects conducive to the public good. As a statesman, he is perhaps better known by his Con- 
struction Construed ; and an Inquiry into the Principles of the Government of the United States, which 
he published in 1814. He also published several other treatises on various subjects. He died in this 
county, Aug. 20th, 1824, ripe in years and honor." A county formed in western Virginia, in the session 
of 1843-4, was named in honor of him. • 



CARROL. 

Carrol was formed in 1842, from the southwestern part of Gray- 
son, and named from Charles Carrol of Carrolton. It is a wild and 
mountainous tract, and is watered by the New River and some of 
the head-branches of the Holston. 



216 



CARROL COUNTY. 



The Grayson Sulphur Springs, formerly in Grayson, are now 
within the limits of this county. The improvements at this place 
are quite recent ; but since they have been made, it has grown 
into popular favor, and attracts more visitors than could have been 
expected from its remote situation. " The efficacy of the waters 
in dyspepsia and rheumatism is such as to promise a certain cure." 




Grayson Sulphur Springs, 

The springs are located immediately on the west side of the Blue 
Ridge, on the bank of New River, about 20 miles s. of Wytheville, 
in the midst of scenery of a remarkably wild and romantic charac- 
ter, similar to that of Harper's Ferry, in a region perhaps as healthy 
as any in our country, abounding with fish and a variety of game. 
An analysis is subjoined, made by Professors Rogers, of the Uni- 
versity of Virginia, and Aiken, of Baltimore. 

Analysis. — Carbonate of soda, 4' ; carbonate of magnesia, 3 ; 
carbonate of lime, 8 ; sulphate of lime, 2 ; sulphate of magnesia, 
3 ; chloride of sodium, 2 ; chloride of calcium, 3 ; chloride of 
magnesium. If ; sulphate of soda, 4^ ; sulphureted hydrogen car- 
bonic acid gases. 



CHARLES CITY COUNTY. 217 



CHARLES CITY. 

Charles City was one of the eight original shires into which 
Virginia was divided in 1634. It then extended on both sides of 
James River, since which its limits have been much reduced. The 
James River bounds it on the s., and the Chickahominy on the e. 
and N. The surface is rolling. There are no villages in it ; its 
advantageous situation with respect to trade with the neighboring 
cities preventing their formation. Pop. 1830, 5,500 ; 1840, whites 
1,171, slaves 2,433, free colored 670 : total, 4,774. 

Westover, long the seat of the distingitished family of Byrds, is on the James River. It was originally 
the residence of Col. Wra. Byrd, where he long lived. In his time, it was "a beautifully decorated and 
princely mansion, which even at this late day exhibits admirable remains of his taste, and his magnificent 
scale of expenditure for its gratification." Col. Byrd was the author of " The History of the Dividing 
Line," and one of the most accomplished men in Virginia at his day. He was a worthy inheritor of the 
opinions and feelings of its old cavaliers. He was for 37 years a member, and at last became president of 
the council of the colony. He died in 1744, at the age of 70 years. His grave is covered by a white 
marble monument, which yet stands at Westover. The Marquis de Chastellux, who was here in 1782, 
gives, in his travels, a glowing description of Westover, which he says surpassed all the seats in the 
country round about " in the magnificence of the buildings, the beauty of its situation, and the pleasures 
of society." He eulogizes Mrs. Byrd as a lady of great sense, and an agreeable countenance, who ful- 
filled the duties incvimbent upon her, as the head of a large household, with uncommon skill. To hei" 
negroes she did all in her power to render them happy, and served " them herself as a doctor in time ol* 
sicltness." 

Three times, in the course of the revolutionary war, the enemy landed at Westover, under Cornwallis 
and Arnold. 

On the evening of Jan. 8th, 1781, the enemy, who were at Bar- 
clay and Westover, sent Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, with a detachment of 
the Queen's Rangers, to Charles City court-house, where they sur- 
prised a party of 1 50 militia, of whom they killed one, wounded 
three, and took several prisoners. We here subjoin the account 
of this event, as given in the journal of Simcoe : 

Gen. Arnold directed a patrol to be made on the night of the 8th of January towards 
Long Bridge, in order to procure intelligence. Lieut.-Col. Simcoe marched with forty 
cavalry, for the most part badly mounted, on such horses as had been picked up in the 
country ; but the patrol had not proceeded above two miles before Sergeant Kelly, who 
was in advance, was challenged : he parleyed with the videttes till he got nearer to them, 
when, rushing at them, one he got hold of, the other flung himself off his horse and es- 
caped into the bushes. A negro was also taken, whom these videttes had intercepted 
on his way to the British army. From these people information was obtained that the 
enemy was assembled at Charles City court-house, and that the corps which had ap- 
peared in the day-time opposite Westover, nearly to the amount of 400 men, lay about 2 
miles in advance of their main body, and on the road to Westover. The party were 
immediately ordered to the right-about, and to march towards them. Lieut. Holland, 
who was similar in size to the vidette who had been taken, was placed in advance ; the 
negro had promised to guide the party so as to avoid the high road, and to conduct them 
by an unfrequented pathway which led close to the creek, between the body which was 
supposed to be in advance, and that which was at Charles City court-house. Lieut. 
Col. Simcoe's intention was to beat up the main body of the enemy, who, trusting to 
those in front, might reasonably be supposed to be off their guard ; in case of repulse he 
meant to retreat by the private way on which he advanced, and should he be successful, 
it was optional to attack the advance party or not on his return. The patrol passed 
through a wood, where it halted to collect, and had scarcely got into the road when the 
advance was challenged : Lieut. Holland answered, " A friend," — gave the countersign 
procured from the prisoner — " It is I, me, Charles," the name of the person he persona- 
ted ; he passed one vidette, whom Sergt. Kelly seized, and himself caught hold of the 
other, who in a struggle proved too strong for him, got free, presented and snapped his 
carbine at his breast ; luckily it did not go off, but the man galloped away, and at some 
distance fired the signal of alarm. The advance division immediately rushed on, and 
soon arrived at the court-house ; a confused and scattered firing began on all sides ; 

28 



218 



CHARLES CITY COUNTY. 



Lleut.-Col. Simcoe sent the bugle-horns, French and Barney, through an enclosure to 
the right, with orders to answer his challenging, and sound when he ordered ; he then 
called loudly for the light infantry, and hallooed " Sound the advance ;" the bugles 
were sounded as had been directed, and the enemy fled on all sides, scarcely firing an- 
other shot. The night was very dark, and the party totally unacquainted with the 
ground ; part of the dragoons were dismounted, and mixed with the hussars ; some of 
the enemy were taken, others wounded, and a few were drowned in a mill-dam. In 
saving three armed militia-men from the fury of the soldiers, Lieut. -Col. Simcoe ran a 
great risk, as their pieces were loaded, pointed to his breast, and in their timidity they 
might have discharged them. From the prisoners he learned that the whole of their force 
was here assembled, and that there was no party in advance : the soldiers were mounted 
as soon as possible, nor could they be permitted to search the houses where many were 
concealed, lest the enemy should gain intelligence of their numbers, and attack them ; 
and this might easily be done, as the darkness of the night prevented the Rangers from 
seeing around them, while they were plainly to be distinguished by the fires which the 
enemy had left. It appeared that the militia were commanded by Gen. Nelson, and 
consisted of seven or eight hundred men : they were completely frightened and dis- 
persed, many of them not stopping till they reached Williamsburg. Sergt. Adams, of 
the hussars, was mortally wounded. This gallant soldier, sensible of his situation, said, 
" My beloved colonel, I do not mind dying, but for God's sake do not leave me in the 
hands of the rebels." Trumpeter French and two husscirs were wounded. About a 
dozen horses were seasonably captured. 





Berkeley, the birth-place of President Harrison. 

[This building stands upon the James Kiver. a few hundred yards from its brink. It is an old- fashioned edifice, constraeteA 
of brick, and surrounded by a grove of poplars, iulermingled with other trees. It is now the residence of the widow of the late 
Benjamin Harrison, Esq,] 

William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United 
States, was born at Berkeley, Feb. 9th, 1773. His ancestors set- 
tled in Virginia in 1640, and the family name Was always among 
the most prominent in her history. 

His father, Benjamin Harrison, was a conspicuous patriot of the revolution. When 
a very young man, he honorably represented liis native district in the House of Bur- 
gesses for many years, and on the 14th of Nov., 1764, was one of those of its distin- 
guished members chosen to prepare an address to the king, a memorial to the lords, and 
a remonstrance to the House of Commons, in opposition to the stamp act. He was a 
delegate from Virginia to the first Continental Congress, which assembled at Philadelphia, 
Sept. 1st, 1774, when he had the gratification of seeing his brother-in-law, Peyton Ran- 
dolph, placed in the presidential chair. "At the congress of the following year, 1775, 
after the death of Mr. Randolph, it was the wish of nearly all the southern members 
that Mr. Harrison should succeed him in the presidency ; but as the patriotic John Han- 



CHARLES CITV COUNTY. 219 

cock, of Massachusetts, had likewise beeft nominated, Mr. Harrison, to avoid any sec- 
tional jealousy or unkindness of feeling between the northern and southern delegates at 
so momentous a crisis, with a noble self-denial and generosity relinquished his own 
claims, and insisted on the election of Mr. Hancock, who accordingly had the honor of 
being unanimously chosen to that high office. Mr. Harrison still, however, continued 
one of the most active and influential members of the Continental Congress. On the 
10th of June, 1776, as chairman of the committee of the whole house, he introduced 
the resolution which declared the independence of the colonies ; and on the ever-memo- 
rable /owrf/t o/ ./M/y, he reported the more formal Declaration of Independence, to which 
celebrated document his signature is annexed. The legislature of Virginia returned Mr. 
Harrison four times as a delegate to Congress. On the expiration of his last term of 
congressional service, he was immediately elected to the House of Burgesses from his 
own county, and was at once chosen speaker of that body — an office he held uninter- 
ruptedly until the year 1 782, when he was elected governor of Virginia, and became one 
of the most popular officers that ever filled the executive chair. This eminent patriot 
died in the year 1791." 

William Henry Harrison was left under the guardianship of Robert Morris, the distin- 
guished financier, and was educated at Hampden Sydney College, and turned his attention 
to the study of medicine. " The hostilities of the Indians on the northwestern frontier 
having begun to excite general attention, the young student resolved to relinquish his 
professional pursuits, and join the army destined to the defence of the Ohio frontier. In 
1791, soon after the death of his father, who died in April of the same year, he received 
from President Washington, when only in his 19th year, the commission of ensign ; in 
1792 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and he fought under Gen. Wayne, who 
spoke of his gallant conduct in a very flattering manner. After the desperate battle of 
the Miami Rapids, he was promoted to the rank of captain, and was placed in the com- 
mand of Fort Washington. In 1797 he resigned his commission in the army, and was 
immediately appointed secretary of the nw. territory. In 1799, at the age of 26, he was 
elected a delegate from this territory to Congress, and in this office he performed very 
important services for his constituents. On the erection of Indiana into a territorial 
government, he was appointed its first governor, and he held this office by reappoint- 
ment until 1813. In addition to the duties in the civil and military government of the 
territory, he was commissioner and superintendent of Indian Affairs ; and in the course 
of his administration he concluded thirteen important treaties with the different tribes. 
On the 7th of Nov., 1811, he gained over the Indians the celebrated battle of Tippeca- 
noe, the news of which was received throughout the country with a burst of enthusiasm. 
During the last war with Great Britain, he was made commander of the northwestern 
army of the United States, and he bore a conspicuous part in the leading events of the 
campaign of 1812-13 — the defence of Fort Meigs, and the victory of the Thames. In 
1814 he was appointed, in conjunction with his companion in arms, Gov. Shelby, and 
Gen. Cass, to treat with the Indians in the northwest ; and in the following year, he was 
placed at the head of a commission to treat -with various other important tribes. 

" In 1816, Gen. Harrison was elected a member of Congress from Ohio ; and in 1828 
he was sent minister plenipotentiary to the Republic of Columbia. On his return, he 
took up his residence at North Bend, on the Ohio, ] 6 m. below Cincinnati, where he 
lived upon his farm in comparative retirement until he was called by the people of the 
United States to preside over the country as its chief magistrate." Of 294 votes for 
president, he received 234. He died April 4th, 1841, just a month after his inaugura- 
tion. His death caused a deep sensation throughout the country. 

John Tyler, the father of the late President of the United States, resided in this 
county. " He was one of the leading revolutionary characters of Virginia, was many 
years a member of the House of Delegates, and in 1781 succeeded Mr. Benjamin Harri- 
son as speaker. After being governor of Virginia, to which office he was elected in 
1808, he was judge of the District Court of the United States for Virginia, and died at 
his seat in Charles City co., Jan. 6th, 1813. He was simple in his manners, distinguished 
for the uprightness and fidelity with which he discharged his official duties, and enjoyed 
in an uncommon degree the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens." 

John Tyler, the 10th President of the United States, and the 
sixth from Virginia, was born on the James River in this co., in 
1790, about 5 m. below Berkeley. Four miles lower down on the 
river is his present residence. 



220 



CHARLOTTE COUXTY. 



CHARLOTTE. 

Charlotte was formed in 1794, from Lunenburg. It is 22 miles 
long, with a mean breadth of 18 miles. The surface is diversified ; 
the soil on the river bottoms fertile, but on the ridges mostly bar- 
ren ; it is watered by numerous creeks and rivulets, all tributary to 
Staunton river, except the head branches of the Meherrin, on the 
E. and SE. Pop. 1830, 15,252 ; 1840, whites 5,130 ; slaves 9,260 ; 
free colored 307 ; total, 14,595. 

Charlotte C. H., or Marysville, 98 miles sw. of Richmond, and 
30 SE. of Lynchburg, near the centre of the county, contains 1 
Baptist, 1 Presbyterian, and 1 Methodist church, and about 50 
dwellings. Keysville, and Rough Creek Church, are small places 
in the county. 

Charlotte has been the residence of three distinguished Virgini- 
ans, viz. : Patrick Henry, John Randolph, and the late Judge Paul 
Carrington, senr. 

The residence of the latter was near the junction of the L. Roancke, with the Staun- 
ton, on an elevated and beautiful site. He was a member of the bar of Charlotte, in 
1765. After Lord Dunmore had abdicated the government of Virginia, a convention 
met in Richmond, in the year 1775, to organize a provincial form of government, and a 
plan of defence for the colony. Mr. Carrington was one of the committee of public 
safety to whom this plan was submitted. He subsequently became a judge of the court 
of appeals, in which office he remained until a few years before hia death. 




Red Hill, the Seat of Patrick Henry. 

Red Hill is on the southwest angle of the county. There lived 
and died Patrick Henry ; the man who, Jefferson said, " was the 
greatest orator that ever lived ;" and to whom Randolph applied 
the words of sacred writ, as being one " who spake as never man 
spake." 

Red Hill is now the seat of his son, John Henry, Esq. The 
larger part of the main building, shown on the left, has been added 
since the decease of its illustrious occupant.* 

* Patrick Henry, when governor, resided at Williamsburg, Richmond ; at Salisbury, 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY. 221 

It is beautifully situated on an elevated ridge, the dividing line of Campbell and Char- 
lotte, within a quarter of a mile of the junction of Falling River with the Staunton. From 
it the valley of the Staunton stretches southward about three miles, varying from a 
quarter to nearly a mile in width, and of an oval-like form. Through most fertile mead- 
ows, waving in their golden luxuriance, slowly winds the river, overhung by mossy foli- 
age, while on all sides gently sloping hills, rich in verdure, enclose the whole, and im- 
part to it an air of seclusion and repose. From the brow of the hill, west of the house, ia 
a scene of an entirely different character ; the Blue Ridge, with the lofty Peaks of Otter, 
appear in the horizon at a distance of nearly sixty miles. At the foot of the garden, un- 
der a dense cluster of locust and other trees, enclosed by a wooden paling, are the graves 
of Patrick Henry and his wife, overrun with myrtle, and without any monuments over 
them. 

Under the trees seen on the left of the picture, in full view of the beautiful valley be- 
neath, the orator was accustomed in pleasant weather to sit mornings and evenings, with 
his chair leaning against one of their trunks, and a can of cool spring-water by his side, 
from which he took frequent draughts. Occasionally, he walked to and fro in the yard 
from one clump of trees to the other, buried in revery, at which times he was never in- 
terrupted. Among the relics in the house is the arm-chair in which he died, and a 
knife given to him when a boy by his uncle, Patrick Henry, which he carried through 
life, and had in his pocket at the moment of his death. In the parlor hangs his por- 
trait, a masterly production, by Sully, representing him pleading in the British debt 
cause. The dress is black, cravat white, and a red velvet mantle is thrown over the 
shoulders.* He appears three-quarters face, leaning partly back, with his spectacles 
thrown over his forehead ; and the expression is one of deep solemnity and impressive- 
ness. 

Under the description of Hanover county, the reader will find a succinct memoir of 
Henry ; and in that of New London, Campbell county, and of the city of Richmond, 
are views of buildings memorable as the scenes of some of his celebrated oratorical ef- 
forts. We now give some reminiscences, collected by us from a reliable source while in 
this section of the state. They are mainly detached facts, without connection, and must 
necessarily be given in that manner. 

When fourteen years of age, Mr. Henry went with his mother in a carriage to the 
Fork church in Hanover, to hear preach the celebrated Samuel Davies, afterwards pres- 
ident of Princeton college. His eloquence made a deep impression on his youthful 
mind, and he always remarked, he was the greatest orator he ever heard. When a mem- 
ber of the Continental Congress, he said the first men in that body were Washington, 
Richard Henry Lee, and Roger Sherman ; and later in life, Roger Sherman and George 
Mason, the greatest statesmen he ever knew. When governor, he had printed and cir- 
culated in Richmond, at his own expense, Soame Jenyns' View of Christianity, and But- 
ler's Analogy of Natural and Revealed Rehgion. Sherlock's sermons, he affirmed, was 
the work which removed all his doubts of the truth of Christianity ; a copy of which, 
until a short time since, was in the possession of his children, filled with marginal notes. 
He read it every Sunday evening to his family, after which they all joined in sacred mu- 
sic, while he accompanied them on the violin. He never quoted poetry. His quota- 
tions were from the Bible, and his illustrations from the Bible, ancient and modern his- 
tory. He was opposed to the adoption of the Federal constitution, because he thought 
it gave too much power to the general government ; and in conversation with the father 
of a late venerable senator from Prince Edward, he remarked with emphasis : " The 
President of the United States will always come in at the head of a party. He will be 
supported in all his acts by a party. You do not now think much of the patronage of the 
President ; but the day is coming when it will be tremendous, and from this power the 
country may sooner or later fall." 

In the British debt cause, of which Wirt gives a full account, Mr. Henry made great 
preparation. He shut himself up in his office for three days, during which he did not 
see his family ; his food was handed by a servant through the office-door. The Countess 
of Huntington, then in this country, was among the auditors, and remarked, after hear- 
ing the arguments of the several speakers, t " that if every one of them had spoken in 

Chesterfield county, and at Leatherwood, Henry co. Afterwards, he dwelt on the Ap- 
pomattox, in Prince Edward ; at Long Island, Campbell co., and removed to Red Hill 
in 1795, four years previous to his death. 

* His usual dress while in the legislature. 

f They were, on the part of plaintiff, Messrs. Ronald, Baker, Wickham, and Starke ; 
and on that of the defendant, Messrs. Henry, Marshall, Innis, and Alex. Campbell, \ 



222 CHARLOTTE COUNTY. 

Westminster Hall, they would have been honored with a peerage." Mr. Henry had a 
diamond ring on his finger, and, while he was speaking, the Countess exclaimed to the 
Judge, Iredell — who had never before heard him — " The diamond is Mazing .'" " Gra- 
cious God !" replied he, " he is an orator indeed." In this cause he injured his voice so 
that it never recovered its original power. 

The following anecdote was related by President Madison, at the conclusion of the 
late war, to a party of gentlemen assembled at his residence in Washington. In the 
revolutionary war, certificates were given by the legislature to the Virginia line on 
continental establishment, stating the amount due to them, which was to be paid at a 
future time. The necessities of the soldiers, in many instances, compelled them to part 
with the certificates to speculators for a trivial sum. Madison brought a bill before ths 
legislature to put a stop to it. He had previously asked Mr. Henry if he was willing to 
support it. The reply was " yes ;" but having no further communication with him on 
the subject, Mr. Madison feared he had forgotten the circumstance. After the bill was 
read, he turned to where Mr. Henry sat, with an anxious eye, upon which the latter 
immediately arose and addressed the house. Mr. Madison said that upon that occasion 
he was particularly eloquent. His voice reminded him of a trumpeter on the field of 
battle, calling the troops to a charge. He looked alternately to the house and the audi- 
ence, and saw they were with the orator; and, at the conclusion, one of the chief specu- 
lators in tickets, then in the galleries, exclaimed in an audible voice — " That bill ought 
to pass !" — it did pass, and unanimously. 

We conclude this article by the subjoined extract from " the Mountaineer," a series 
of Essays, originally published in 1813 in the Republican Farmer, at Staunton, and 
written by Conrad Speece, D.D., pastor of the Augusta church : 

Many years ago, I was at the trial, in one of our district courts, of a man charged with murder. The 
case was briefly this : the prisoner had gone, in execution of his office as a constable, to arrest a slave 
who had been guilty of some misconduct, and bring him to justice. Expecting opposition in the busi- 
ness, the constable took several men with him, some of them armed. They found the slave on the 
plantation of his master, within view of the house, and proceeded to seize and bind him. His mistress, 
seeing the arrest, came down and remonstrated vehemently against it. Finding her etforts unavailing, 
she went off to a barn where her husband was, who was presently perceived running briskly to the 
house. It was known he always kept a loaded rifle over his door. The constable now desired his com- 
pany to remain where they were, taking care to keep the slave in custody, while he himself would go to 
the house to prevent mischief. He accordingly ran towards the house. When he arrived within a short 
distance of it, the master appeared coming out of the door with his rifle in his hand. Some witnesses 
said that as he came to the door he drew the cock of the piece, and was seen in the act of raising it to 
the position of firing. But upon these points, there was not an entire agreement in the evidence. The 
constable, standing near a small building in the yard, at this instant fired, and the fire had a fatal effect. 
No previous malice was proved against him ; and his plea upon the trial was, that he had taken the life 
of his assailant in necessary self-defence. 

A great mass of testimony was delivered. This was commented upon with considerable ability by 
the lawyer for the commonwealth, and by another lawyer engaged by the friends of the deceased for the 
prosecution. The prisoner was also defended, in elaborate speeches, by two respectable advocates. These 
proceedings brought the day to a close. The general whisper through a crowded house was, that the 
man was guilty and could not be saved. 

About dusk, candles were brought, and Henry arose. His manner was exactly that which the British 
Spy describes with so much felicity ; plain, simple, and entirely unassuming. " Gentlemen of the jury," 
said he, " I dare say we are all very much fatigued with this tedious trial. The prisoner at the bar has 
been well defended already; but it is my duty to offer you some further observations in behalf of this 
unfortunate man. I shall aim at brevity. But should I take up more of your time than you expect, I 
hope you will hear me with patience, when you consider that blood is concerned," 

I cannot admit the possibility that any one who never heard Henry speak should be made fully to con- 
ceive the force of impression which he gave to these few words, " blood is concerned." I had been on 
my feet through the day, pushed about in the crowd, and was excessively weary. I was strongly of 
opinion, too, notwithstanding all the previous defensive pleadings, that the prisoner was guilty of mur- 
der; and I felt anxious to know how the matter would terminate. Yet when Henry had uttered these 
words, my feelings undervv-ent an instantaneous change ; 1 found every thing within me answering at 
once, yes, since blood is concerned, in the name of all that is righteous, go on ; we will hear you with 
patience until the rising of to-morrow's sun. This bowing of the soul must have been universal ; for the 
profoundest silence reigned, as if our very breath had been suspended. The spell of the magician was 
upon us, and we stood like statues around him. Under the touch of his genius, every particular of the 
story assumed a new aspect, and his cause became continually more bright and promising. At length he 
arrived at the fatal act itself. " You have been told, gentlemen, that the prisoner was bound by every 
obligation to avoid the supposed necessity of firing, by leaping behind a house near which he stood at 
that moment. Had he been attacked with a club, or with stones, the argument would have been un- 
answerable, and I should feel myself compelled to give up the defence in despair. But surely I need not 
tell you, gentlemen, how wide is the difference between sticks or stones, and double-triggered loaded rifles 
cocked at your breast." The effect of this terrific image, exhibited in this great orator's peerless man- 
ner, cannot be described. I dare not attempt to delineate the paroxysm of emotion which it excited in 
every heart. The result of the whole was, that the prisoner was acquitted ; with the perfect approba- 



cousin of the poet. This case " was discussed with so much learning, argument, and 
eloquence, as to have placed the bar of Virginia, in the estimation of the federal judges 
(if the reports of the day may be accredited,) above all others in the United States." 



chahlotte county. 



223 



tion, I believe, of the numerous assembly who attended the trial. What was it that gave such transcen- 
dent force to the eloquence of Henry 1 His reasoning powers were good ; but they have been equalled, 
and more than equalled, by those of many other men. His imagination was exceedingly quick, and 
commanded all the stores of nature as materials for illustrating his subject. His voice and delivery were 
inexpressibly happy. But his most irresistible charm was the vivid feeling of his cause with which he 
spoke. Such feeling infallibly communicates itself to the breast of the hearer. 




Roanoke, the seat of John Randolph. 

The residence of the late John Randolph is near the Staunton, in the southern part 
of the countv, several miles above its junction with the Dan, and about thirteen below 
Charlotte court-house. 

The name, Roanoke, is derived from a small creek running through the plantation. 
The buildings are in a dense forest, which has scarce ever echoed to the woodman's 
axe. On leaving the main road, the traveller threads his way through the woods by a 
narrow path, for about half a mile, when, a few rods distant, the dwellings and out- 
houses suddenly appear through the foliage, without any cultivated land or clearing in 
view, seeming, from the wild seclusion and primitive aspect of the spot, to have been 
the abode of a recluse, rather than of a statesman, whose fame extended beyond the 
limits of his native land. 

The two buildings in front were occupied by Mr. Randolph, and those in the rear by 
his domestics. That on the right is clapboarded, and is much the most commodious ; it 
was the one in which he dwelt in summer. On the ground-floor are two rooms, one 
containing his books, the other is the drawing-room, adorned with convenient and neat 
furniture. The library is large, well selected, and contains many rare works. Most of 
the books bear evidence of careful perusal, and the striking passages are marked with 
the pencil. Among the many pictures and portraits in these rooms is one of Pocahon- 
tas. The arms are bare to the elbow, displaying an arm and a hand of exquisite beauty. 
The hair and eye are a raven black, — the latter remarkably expressive, and the whole 
countenance surpassing lovely, and beaming with intelligence and benignity. 

The dwelling on the left was his winter residence, and the one in which he usually 
partook of his meals. It is a log structure, which is entered through a shed, paved with 
water-worn pebbles and supported by unhewn posts. Notwithstanding its extreme sim- 
plicity, it is richly furnished. These rooms are also hung with portraits. One of them 
is a fine drawing of his servant Jupiter — or, as he is commonly called, Juba — dressed 
as a sportsman, with a double-barrelled gun on his shoulder. Over the fireplace in the 
bedroom is a portrait of Mr. Randolph, when twelve years of age. It is a fine oil 
painting, from the easel of the celebrated Gilbert Stuart. In the fresh rosy complexion, 
and round chubby face of this beautiful little boy, it would be difficult to trace any re- 
semblance to the thin, cadaverous lineaments of the original in his latter years. John 
and Juba, the favorite servants of Randolph, yet reside in the small huts shown in the 
background. 



224 CHARLOTTE COUNTY. 

The first is a man of strong mind, and the general expression, and the high, well- 
developed forehead, denote an intellect of greater than an ordinary cast ; but the latter 
— the affectionate and faithful Juba — was more appreciated for the qualities of his heart. 
As we mounted our horses, on leaving Roanoke, at the close of a fine summer's day in 
1843, we said to him : " Juba, you lost a fine master when Mr. Randolph died." " Ah !" 
replied he, " he was more than a father to me." 

About 100 yards to the right of where the foregoing view was taken, is the grave of 
Randolph. It is in the midst of the forest, with no marble memorial ; but two tall pines 
hang their rude limbs over the spot, and the wind mournfully sighs through their 
branches. 

Facsimile of the signature of John Randolph of Roanok-. 

John Randolph of Roanoke* was born June 2d, 1773, at Cawson's, Prince George 
county, the family seat of his mother. He was descended in thp seventh generation from 
Pocahontas, the Indian princess. This lady died at Gravesend, England, in 1617, at 
the age of twenty-three. Thomas Rolf, her son, became a citizen of Virginia, and left 
at his death a daughter, who married Col. Robert Boiling, by whom she had one son 
and five daughters. They married respectively. Col. John Fleming, Dr. Wm. Gay, 
Mr. Thomas lildridge, Mr. James Murray, and Col. Richard Randolph. John Randolph 
of Roanoke, was the son of John Randolph, a wealthy country gentleman, who died at 
Matoax, his residence on the Appomattox, near Petersburg, where he lies hurried. John 
Randolph of Roanoke's mother was Frances Bland, daughter of Col. Theodorick Bland, 
jun., who was a brother of Richard Bland, a member of the continental congress. 
Surviving her first husband, she married secondly, St. George Tucker, the eminent jurist. 
John Randolph's half-brothers, now surviving, are Beverley T. Tucker, professor of law 
at William and Mary, and Henry St. George Tucker, professor of law at the University 
of Va. 

The mother of John Randolph was an exemplary and pious member of the Episcopal 
denomination, and a lady of sprightliness and talent. She brought up her son strictly, 
" teaching him," as he often remarked, " the Lord's prayer and the ten commandments." 
John Randolph passed a short time at three colleges : Princeton, Columbia, and WilHam 
and Mary ; but he used to say, that he acquired all his knowledge from his library at 
Roanoke, and by intercourse with the world. 

In the spring of 1799, Mr. Randolph presented himself to the electors of Charlotte 
as a candidate for Congress, in competition with Mr. Clement Carrington, a federalist, 
and Mr. Powhatan Boiling, a democrat. On the same occasion he encountered Patrick 
Henry, then a candidate for the state senate, and opposed to those measures Mr. Ran- 
dolph advocated. They met at the court-house, and supported a long and animated 
discussion. Mr. Henry was then in his 67th year ; the measure of his fame was full ; 
the late proceedings of the Virginia assembly, in relation to the alien and sedition laws, 
had filled him with alarm — " had planted his pillow with thorns, and he had quitted his 
retirement to make one more, his last, effort for his country." Enfeebled by age and ill- 
health, with a linen cap upon his head, he mounted the hustings, and comnienced with 
difficulty ; but as he proceeded, his eye lighted up with its wonted fire, his voice assumed 
its wonted majesty ; gradually accumulating strength and animation, his eloquence 
seemed like an avalanche threatening to overwhelm his adversary. Many present con- 
sidered it his best effort. Mr. Moulton remarked, that many of its passages were indelij 
bly impressed upon his memory. In the course of the speech, Mr. Henry said, " The 
alien and sedition laws were only the fruits of that constitution, the adoption of which 
he opposed If we are wrong, let us all go wrong together," at the same time clasp- 
ing his hands and waving his body to the right and left. His auditory unconsciously 
waved with him. As he finished he literally descended into the arms of the obstreper- 
ous throng, and was borne about in triumph, when Dr. John H. Rice exclaimed, " the 
sun has set in all his glory." 

* Hugh A. Garland, Esq., of Petersburg, is preparing a biography of John Randolph, 
from whom will doubtless be given an authentic and full memoir. 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY. 225 

As Mr. Henry left the stand, Mr. Randolph, with undaunted courage, arose in his 
place. He was then about 26 years of age — a mere boy from college, who had, probably, 
never yet addressed a political assembly — of a youthful and unprepossessing appearance. 
The audience, considering it presumptuous for him to speak after Mr. Henry, partially 
dispersed, and an Irishman present exclaimed, " Tut ! tut ! it won't do, it's nothing but 
the bating of an old tin pan after hearing a fine church organ." But if " the sun of the 
other had set in all his glory," his was about to rise with, perhaps, an equal brilliancy. 
He commenced : " his singular person and peculiar aspect ; his novel, shrill, vibratory 
intonations ; his solemn, slow-marching, and swelling periods ; his caustic crimination 
of the prevailing political party; his cutting satire; the tout ensemble of his public 
debut, soon calmed the tumultuous crowd, and inclined all to listen to the strange 
orator, while he rephed at length to the sentiments of their old favorite. When he had 
concluded, loud huzzas rang through the welkin. 

" This was a new event to Mr. Henry. He had not been accustomed to a rival, and 
httle expected one in a beardless boy : for such was the aspect of the champion who 
now appeared to contend for the palm which he was wont to appropriate to himself. 
He returned to the stage and commenced a second address, in which he soared above 
his usual vehemence and majesty. Such is usually the fruit of emulation and rivalshipi 
He frequently adverted to his youthful competitor with parental tenderness ; compliment- 
ed his rare talents with the liberality of profusion ; and, while regretting what he depre- 
cated as the poHtical errors of youthful zeal, actually wrought himself and audience into 
an enthusiasm of sympathy and benevolence that issued in an ocean of tears. The 
gesture, intonations, and pathos of Mr. Henry, operated like an epidemic on the trans- 
ported assembly. The contagion was universal. An hysterical phrensy pervaded the 
audience to such a degree, that they were at the same moment literally weeping and 
laughing. At this juncture the speaker descended from the stage. Shouts of applause 
rent the air, and were echoed from the skies. The whole spectacle as it really was, 
would not only mock every attempt at description, but would almost challenge the im- 
agination of any one who had not witnessed it. With a recollection of the event, Mr 
Randolph, eighteen years afterwards, in his place in the House of Representatives of the 
U. S., speaking of the general-ticket law, which was carried by the democratic party 
by a majority of five votes only in the popular branch of the Virginia Assembly, said : 
' Had Patrick Henry lived, and taken his seat in the Assembly, that law would never 
have passed. In that case the electoral vote of Virginia would have been divided, and 
Mr. Jefferson lost his election ! Five votes 1 Mr. Chairman ! Patrick Henry was good 
for five times five votes.' "* 

In this contest Mr. Henry was elected to the Senate of Virginia, but did not live to 
take his seat ; and Mr. Randolph was returned to Congress, in which body he was at 
different intervals for more than twenty-four years, including the time he served in the 
United States Senate. Well did the people of Charlotte obey the last injunction of 
Patrick Henry in the speech above described, when he said, " He is a young man of 
promise ; cherish him, he will make an invaluable man." 

Such was Mr. Randolph's youthful appearance, that when he made his first appearance 
at the clerk's table of the House of Representatives to qualify, that gentleman could not 
refrain from inquiring his age : "Ask my constituents, sir," was the reply. Mr. Ran- 
dolph soon became one of the leaders of the republican party in Congress, and a de- 
cided politician of the Jeffersonian school. He later was distinguished by his opposition 
to the embargo and non-intercourse acts, and the gun-boat system of Mr. Jefferson. 

In Madison's administration, Mr. Randolph opposed the declaration of war with Great 
Britain ; but when fears were entertained of the invasion of Virginia, at the time of the 
burning of Washington, he offered himself to the governor for any post he chose to as- 
sign him. He was given an office in the corps of topographical engineers, which he filled 
as long as the corps remained in service. In the administration of Mr. Monroe, he op- 
posed with ability the Greek resolutions, and the internal improvement system of the 
general government. During the administration of J. Q. Adams, he was elected to the 
U. S. Senate, where he again arrayed himself in opposition to the friends of the presi- 
dent. It was then that he used those violent remarks which occasioned the duel be- 
tween himself and Mr. Clay. 

The account of this duel, which we extract, has been given to the public in a letter 
of Gen. James Hamilton, who accompanied Mr. Randolph to the field on this occasion, 
in conjunction with Col. Tattnal, then a member of Congress from Georgia : 

* From the Memoir of Patrick Henry, by E. H. Cummins, A. M. — in the 2d Amer- 
ican edition of the New Edinburgh Encyclopedia, published in 1817 

29 



226 CHARLOTTE COUNTY. 

The night before the duel, Mr. Randolph sent for me in the evening. I found him calm, but in a singu- 
larly kind and confiding mood. He told me that he had something on his mind to tell me. He then remark- 
ed, " Hamilton, I have determined to receive, without returning, Clay's fire ; nothing shall induce me to 
harm a hair of his head ; I will not make his wife a widow, or his children orphans. Their tears would 
be shed over his grave ; but when the sod of Virginia rests on my bosom, there is not, in this wide world, 
one individual to pay this tribute upon mine." His eyes filled, and resting his head upon his hand, he 
remained some moments silent. I replied, " My dear friend," (for ours was a sort of posthumous friend- 
ship, bequeathed by our mothers,) " I deeply regret that you have mentioned this subject to me, for you 
call upon me to go to the field and to see you shot down, or to assume the responsibility, in regard to your 
own life, in sustaining your determination to throw it away. But on this subject a man's own con- 
science and his own bosom are his best monitors. I will not advise ; but under the enormous and unpro- 
voked personal insult you have offered Mr. Clay, I cannot dissuade. I feel bound, however, to commu- 
nicate to Col. Tattnal your decision." He begged me not to do so, and said, "he was very much afraid 
that Tattnal would take the studs and refuse to go out with him." I however sought Col. Tattnal, and 
we repaired, about midnight, to Mr. Randolph's lodgings, whom we found reading Milton's great Poem. 
For some moments he did not permit us to say one word in relation to the approaching duel ; and he at 
once commenced one of those delightful criticisms on a passage from this poet, in which he was wont 
so enthusiastically to indulge. After a pause. Col. Tattnal remarked, " Mr. Randolph, I am told you 
have determined not to return Mr. Clay's fire ; I must say to you, my dear sir, if 1 am only to go out to see 
you shot down, you must find some other friend." Mr. Randolph remarked that it was his determination. 
After much conversation on the subject, I induced Col. Tattnal to allow Mr. Randolph to take his own 
course, as his withdrawal, as one of his friends, might lead to very injurious misconstructions. At last 
Mr. Randolph, smiling, said, " Well, Tattnal, I promise you one thing ; if I see the devil in Clay's eye, 
and that with malice prepense he means to take my life, I may change my mind." — A remark I knew he 
merely made to propitiate the anxiety of his friend. 

Mr. Clay and himself met at 4 o'clock the succeeding evening, on the banks of the Potomac. But he 
saw " no devil in Clay's eye," but a man fearless, and expressing the mingled sensibility and firmness 
which belonged to the occasion. 

I shall never forget this scene as long as I live. It has been my misfortune to witness several duels, 
but I never saw one, at least in its sequel, so deeply afl^ecting. 

The sun was just ^etting behind the blue hills of Randolph's own Virginia. Here were two of the 
most extraordinary men our country in its prodigality had produced, about to meet in mortal combat. * * * 
While Tattnal was loading Randolph's pistol, I approached my friend, I believed for the last time ; I 
took his hand ; there was not in its touch the quickening of one pulsation. He turned to me and said, 
" Clay is calm, but not vindictive. I hold my purpose, Hamilton, in any event — remember this." On 
handing him his pistol. Col. Tattnal sprung the hair-trigger. Mr. Randolph said, " Tattnal, although I 
am one of the best shots in Virginia, with either a pistol or gun, yet I never fire with the hair-trigger ; 
besides, I have a thick buckskin glove on, which will destroy the delicacy of my touch, and the trigger 
may fly before I know where 1 am." But from his great solicitude for his friend, Tattnal insisted upon 
hairing the trigger. On taking their position, the fact turned out as Mr. Randolph anticipated : his pistol 
went off before the word, with the muzzle down. 

The moment this event took place. Gen. Jesup, Mr. Clay's friend, called out that he would instantly 
leave the ground with his friend, if this occurred again. Mr. Clay at once exclaimed it was entirely an 
accident, and begged that the gentleman might be allowed to go on. On the word being given, Mr. Clay 
fired without effect, Mr. Randolph discharging his pistol in the air. The moment Mr. Clay saw that Mr. 
Randolph had thrown away his fire, with a gush of sensibility he instantly approached Mr. R. and said, 
with an emotion I never can forget, " I trust in God, my dear sir, you are untouched ; after what has oc- 
curred, I would not have harmed you for a thousand worlds." Deeply affected by this scene, I could not 
refrain from grasping Mr. Clay by the hand, and said, " My good sir, we have been long separated, but 
after the events of to-day, I feel that we must be friends forever." 

The magnanimous conduct of Mr. Randolph on the occasion of this duel excited gen- 
eral admiration. Shortly afterwards he retired from Congress, and in 1829 he was elect- 
ed a member of the convention for revising the state constitution. Every morning he 
went to the capitol in Richmond, where the convention met, clad in mourning, with a 
black suit, and hat and arms bound with crape. " Have you lost a friend ?" was the 
frequent query. " Oh no !" replied he, in his peculiarly melancholy tones ; " I go in 
mourning for the old constitution: I fear I have come to witness its death and funeral." 
When he returned from the convention, he intended to retire from public life, and made, 
as he supposed, his farewell address to his constituents at Charlotte court-house. From 
the memory of a gentleman present, we give a slight sketch of his remarks : 

He commenced by saying, " he had lately been very unpleasantly situated ; that he 
was in a convention where Virginian was contending with Virginian for power, and that 
he had taken part in the strife. P^ellow-citizens, you know brothers never could divide 
an estate .' The convention agreed to a constitution he had there voted for, and should 
presently go into the court-house and vote for again. But he disliked it. They had ex- 
tended the right of suffrage ; he never could agree to it — never thought it right. There 
many plans for a constitution were submitted ; every man thought himself a constitution- 
maker — every man thought himself a George Mason. But my main business is to take 
leave of you, and what shall I say ? Twenty-eight years ago you took me by the hand when 
a beardless boy, and led me into Congress Hall. The clerk asked me if I was of lawful 
age ; I told him to ask you. You said you had a faithful representative ; I said no man 
ever had such constituents. You have supported me through evil report and through 
good report. I have served you to the best of my ability, but fear I have been an un- 
profitable servant ; and if justice were meted out to me, should be beaten with many 
etripes. People of Charlotte ! which of you is without SIN ?" — at the same time shak- 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY. 227 

ing his long bony finger, " that javelin of rhetoric," (as it has been termed,) at them in 
his peculiarly impressive manner. " But I know," continued he, " I shall get a verdict 
of acquittal from my earthly tribunal : I see it ! I read it in your countenances. But it 
is time for me to retire, and prepare to stand before another, a higher tribunal, where a 
verdict of acquittal will be of infinite more importance than one from an earthly tribu- 
nal. Here is the trust you placed in my hands twenty-eight years ago" — at the same 
time, suiting the action to the idea, bending forward as though rolling a great weight 
towards them, and exclaiming — " Take it back ! take it back .'" He then mounted his 
horse and rode off! 

Early in the administration of President Jackson, he was appointed a minister-pleni- 
potentiary to Russia. He suddenly returned from his mission, came into Charlotte, and 
raised his standard in opposition to the executive. Death, however, soon terminated his 
labors. He died at Philadelphia, May 24th, 1833, whither he had gone to embark on 
board of a vessel for Europe, for the benefit of his health. His physician published a 
long and thrilling narrative of his last days. We have, however, but sufficient space to 
quote the concluding scene : 

" After the lapse of about an hour or more, and about 50 minutes before his decease, 
I returned to his sick room ; but now the scene was changed. His keen, penetrating 
eye had lost its expression ; his powerful mind had given way, and he appeared totally 
incapable of giving any correct directions relative to his worldly concerns. To record 
what now took place may not be required, further than to say, that almost to the last 
moment some of his eccentricities could be seen lingering about him. He had entered 
within 'the dark valley of the shadow of death,' and what was now passing within his 
chamber was like the distant voice of words which fell with confusion on the ear. The 
further this master-spirit receded from view, the sounds became less distinct, until they 
were lost in the deep recesses of the valley, and all that was mortal of Randolph of 
Roanoke was hushed in death." 

Mr. Randolph never married. He was once engaged to a distinguished heiress ; but 
when the day appointed for the wedding arrived, he declined, and she subsequently mar- 
ried a gentleman of distinction. Yet, from the following anecdote, it would seem that 
he had no great predilections for a life of celibacy. Respecting an epistle to a friend, 
congratulating him upon his marriage, written by Mr. Randolph early in life, one who 
saw it has said : " a letter of more beautiful simplicity and feeling, I never read. I 
recollect that while the writer dwelt upon the happiness and advantages to be expected 
from a wedded life, he spoke feelingly of never expecting to enjoy them himself" 

The portrait of Mr. Randolph when a boy, shows him to have been a beautiful child. 
When a young man, he was tall, ungainly, flaxen-haired, and his complexion of a parch- 
ment hue. The expression was unprepossessing ; but when animated, his countenance 
changed in a moment, and that which was before dull and heavy, flashed up with the 
brightest beams of intellect. His personal appearance late in life is here given from a 
published account, omitting the extravagances of the original : 

I had frequently heard and read descriptions of Randolph : and one day, as I was 
standing in one of the pubUc streets of Baltimore, I remarked a tall, thin, unique-looking 
being, hurrying towards me with a quick impatient step, evidently much annoyed by a 
crowd of boys following close upon him, absorbed in silent and curious wonder. He 
stopped to converse with a gentleman, which gave me an opportunity, unnoticed, to 
observe the Roanoke orator for a considerable length of time, and really he was the most 
remarkable looking person I ever beheld. 

His limbs, long and thin, were encased in a pair of small-clothes, so tight that they 
seemed part and parcel of the limbs of the wearer. Handsome white stockings were 
fastened with great tidiness at the knees by a small gold buckle, and over them, coming 
about half-way up to the calf, were a pair of what I believe are called hose, coarse and 
country -knit. He wore shoes : they were old-fashioned, and fastened only with buckles 
— huge ones. In walking, he placed his feet in the straight-forward Indian manner. It 
was then the fashion to wear a fan-tailed coat, with a small collar, and buttons far apart 
behind, and a few on the breast. Mr. Randolph's were the reverse of this ; the coat 
was swallow-tailed, the collar immensely large, and the buttons crowded together. His 
waist was remarkably slender, and around it his coat was buttoned very tight, and held 
together by one button. His neck was enveloped in a large high white cravat, without 
any collar being perceptible, although it was then the fashion to wear them very large. 
His complexion was dark and cadaverous, and his face exceedingly wrinkled. His lips 
were thin, compressed, and colorless ; the chin, beardless as a boy's, was broad for the 
size of his face, which was small ; his nose was straight, with nothing remarkable in it, 
except it was too short. He wore a fur cap, which he took off", standing a few minutes 



228 CHARLOTTE COUNTY. 

uncovered. I observed that his head was quite small ; a characteristic which is said to 
have marked many men of talent — Byron and Chief Justice Marshall, for instance. 

To accurately delineate the character of Mr. Randolph, would require the pen of a 
master, and a long acquaintance with him. While in Congress, he had but few personal 
friends, but those few, it has been said, " he riveted to his heart with hooks of steel." 
His attachments and hatred were alike strong. His affection for his servants was great ; 
and his treatment, kind and generous, excited that gratitude which is a marked feature 
in the African race. The return of " Massa Randolph" from Congress was greeted with 
the utmost demonstration of joy. 

The conversational powers of Mr. Randolph were extraordinary, and when he chose, 
there was irresistible fascination in his voice and manner. His knowledge of books and 
men too was extensive. A friend on board the steamboat with him, on his passage from 
Baltimore to Philadelphia, a few days before his death, stated to the writer, that among 
the crowd that at one time surrounded him, as he reclined upon a settee in the cabin, 
was a gentleman, now a foreign minister ; an individual who, as a writer, has done more 
to enhance the reputation of American literature abroad than any other. Him, the 
statesman, enfeebled in body and mind by disease, was addressing. He hung upon his 
lips as if drawn by a charm, and appeared like a child before its teacher. 

It has been said, that when in the halls of legislation, " he never spoke without com- 
manding the most intense interest. At his first gesture, or word, the house and galleries 
were hushed into silence and attention. His voice was shrill and pipe-like, but under 
perfect command ; and in its lower tones, it was music. His tall person, firm eye, and 
pecuHarly ' expressive fingers,' assisted very much in giving effect to his delivery. His 
eloquence, taking its character from his unamiable disposition, was generally exerted in 
satire and invective ; but he never attempted pathos without entire success. In quick- 
ness of perception, accuracy of memory, liveliness of imagination, and sharpness of wit, 
he surpassed most men of his day ; but his judgment was feeble, or rarely consulted." 

The aphorism, "a prophet is not without honor save in his own country," did not apply 
to him. He was always an object of wonder and curiosity to all. He often stopped at 
the hotel of Wyatt Cardwell, Esq., at Charlotte C. H. On those occasions, the multitude, 
though frequently seeing him, would crowd the windows and doors to get a glimpse of 
that man, about whose genius, eccentricities, and physical aspect, there was so much of 
the incomprehensible. 

Mr. Randolph was opposed to that feature in the Federal constitution which gave so 
much power to the president. To that, by his friends, has been ascribed his opposition 
to every executive. 

He went for the independence of the representative. A quotation from one of his 
speeches, supplied by the memory of one present, is here in point. " I was at Federal 
Hall. I saw Washington, but could not hear him take the oath to support the Federal 
constitution. The constitution was in its chrysalis state. I saw what Washington did 
not see ; but two other men in Virginia saw it — George Mason and Patrick Henry — the 
poison under its wings" 

Mr. Randolph had a great veneration for religion, and a most intimate knowledge of 
the Bible. His strongest illustrations were often from Sacred writ, and he could con- 
verse upon it in the most interesting manner. He was peculiarly a being of impulse, 
often reminding one, by his eccentricities, of the saying of Cicero, " that there was but 
a hair's-breadth between a great genius and a madman." When excited, he sometimes 
inadvertently used the name of the Almighty irreverently, upon which, instantly check- 
ing the torrent of his impetuosity, he would with deep humility ask forgiveness, exclaim- 
ing, " God forgive !" Towards the latter part of life, he was accustomed to call his 
servants together on Sundays, when he would preach to them with almost surpassing 
eloquence. He was charitable to the poor in his neighborhood, and beloved by them. 
He was wealthy, and left 318 slaves and 180 horses. At different times he made several 
wills, both written and nuncupative, by some of which he liberated slaves. They have 
become the subject of litigation the most complicated, expensive, and interminable. 

Mr. Randolph has been described as one who " possessed a mind fertilized by every 
stream of literature ; but the use he made of his great acquirements, was calculated 
to make enemies rather than friends ; and, as he once said, ' no man ever had such 
constituents' — a fact which, of itself, speaks volumes in his praise. If he originated no 
great national benefits, nor did any great positive national good, he prevented many evils ; 
and in doing so, he became the benefactor of his country, although not to the extent he 
might otherwise have been." Much of his eccentricity was, doubtless, owing to his 
exquisitely sensitive nervous organization, which became morbidly susceptible by disease. 



CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. 229 



CHESTERFIELD. 



Chesterfield was formed from Henrico, in 1748. It is 28 miles 
long, with an average width of about 18 ; the surface is broken, 
and, excepting on the margin of the streams, the soil is generally 
sterile. It is particularly celebrated for its immense beds of coal, 
which have been worked from a very early day. The James River 
forms its n. and the Appomattox its s. boundary ; and the great 
line of railroads, from the north to the south, passes through its 
eastern portion. Pop. 1830, 11,689; 1840, whites 7,859, slaves 
8,702, free colored 587; total, 17,148. 

Manchester lies on the James, immediately opposite Richmond, 
with which it is connected by the railroad and Mayo's bridges. In 
the American revolution it was visited by the enemy, and then had 
but a few houses. Ten years ago it contained a population of 
1500, since which it has not increased. The town is very much 
scattered ; there are several tobacco and one or more large cotton 
manufactories. Its beautiful situation has induced wealthy men, 
doing business in Richmond, to make it their residence, who have 
erected some splendid private mansions within its limits. Bellona 
Arsenal, on the river, 12 miles above Richmond, was established 
in 1816. Formerly it was a depot for military stores, and was 
garrisoned by a company of U. S. troops. Adjacent is the Bellona 
foundry, one of the oldest cannon foundries in the Union. Halls- 
boro' is a small village in the w. part of the county. Salisbury, 
now the seat of Mrs. Johnson, in this county, was once the resi- 
dence of Patrick Henry. 

Warwick, which is on the river, was, previous to the revolution, 
larger than Richmond, and one of the principal shipping ports on 
the river. Formerly large vessels came up there, and it was the 
point where all the coal of this count}'^ was shipped. The Marquis 
de Chastellux thus describes it, as it was in 1782 : "We skirted 
James River to a charming place called Warwick, where a group 
of handsome houses form a sort of village, and there are several 
superb ones in the neighborhood ; among others, that of Col, 
Carey, on the right bank of the river, and Mr. Randolph's [at 
Tuckahoe] on the opposite shore." ■ In the revolution, the bar- 
racks of the American troops at the court-house of this county, 
were burnt by the enemy. 

On the N. bank of the Appomattox, above the falls, and about ajnile from Petersburg, is Matoax, where 
resided John Randolph, senr., the father of John R. of Roanoke'^ The name Bjlatoax, (or Matoaca,) was 
the private name of Pocahontas. Of the house nothing now remains. Here JoHn Ilandolph of Roanoke 
passed the years of his boyhood. The Bland papers, from which this article is abridged, remark that, 
" he is said in after-life, when involved in the turmoil of politics, to have recurred with fond regret to his 
early days at Matoax, and in particular to his angling amusements there. Numerous arrowheads, stone 
tomahawks, and other Indian relics found there, would seem to indicate it as formerly a favorite haunt 
of the natives." Subjoined are translations from Latin inscriptions engraved on three tombstones, under 
a clump of oaks, near the site of the Matoax house : 

John Randolph, Esq., died 28th October, 1775, aged 34. Let not a tomb be wanting to his ashes, nor 
memory to his virtues. 

Jesus, the Saviour of mankind. When shall we cease to mourn for Frances Bland Tucker, wife of St, 
George Tucker 'i She died 18th January, 1788, aged 36. 
Martha Hall, died 4th of March, 1784. Whom Hymen slighted, Pollux and Apollo courted. 



230 CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. 

The coal-region of eastern Virginia is supposed to be about 50 
miles long and 12 broad, and occupies part of this and several of 
the adjacent counties. Here, however, the mining has been the 
most successfully prosecuted, and at present the mines in Chester- 
field daily raise, in the aggregate, about 250 tons. We had the 
pleasure, in the summer of 1843, of visiting one of the mines, and 
at the time published a letter in a public print, giving an account 
of our visit. A portion of it is copied below : 

Learning that the Midlothian mines were the most extensively and as skilfully 
wrought as any, I paid them a visit ; but my remarks as to the management and quality 
of the coal, will in general apply as well to the remainder. Four shafts have been sunk 
by this company since 1833 ; in two, coal has been reached, one at a depth of 625, and 
the other at 775 feet. The sinking of the deepest occupied three years of labor, at a 
cost of about $30,000. The materials were raised by mules, and it is supposed a like 
depth was never before attained by horse-power in any country. These shafts, eleven 
feet square each, are divided by timbers into four equal chambers. At the deep shaft, 
two steam-engines on the surface operate in raising coal ; at the other, one. The extra 
engine at the deep shaft draws coal up an inclined plane down in the mine, to the bottom 
of the shaft. This plane reaches the lowest point of the mine, about 1,000 feet or a 
fifth of a mile from the surface. The coal having thus been brought to the pit, the other 
engine raises it perpendicularly to the surface, when the baskets containing it are placed 
on little cars on a small hand-railway, and are pushed by the negroes a few rods to where 
it is emptied, screened, and shovelled into the large cars on the railroad, connecting with 
tide-water near Richmond, 12 miles distant. While the engine attached to the plane is 
drawing up coal, it is so arranged that pumps, by the same motion, are throwing out the 
" surface water," which, by means of grooves around the shaft, is collected in a reservoir 
made in the rock, 360 feet below the surface This water is conducted about twenty feet 
above ground, to a cistern, from which it is used by the different engines. 

Through the kindness of the president of the company, I was allowed to descend into 
the mines. I was first conducted to a building where I put on a coarse suit, which is 
perhaps worthy of description. Firstly, imagine a figure about five feet and a half in 
height, incased in a pair of pants of the coarsest " hard-times" cloth, coming up nearly 
to his shoulders, with legs as large as the wearer's body. Throw over these a coat ot 
the same material, with a very short skirt, and over its collar place a shirt-collar of sail- 
cloth, turned over " k la Byron," being the upper termination of a garment operating 
most unmercifully as a flesh-brush upon the tender skin of its wearer. Mount this inter- 
esting figure in a pair of negro shoes, crown him with a low black wool hat, stuck just 
on the top of his head ; beneath it place a countenance sunburnt and weatherbeaten to 
the hue^f unscraped sole-leather, relieved on each side by huge masses of long light hair, 
and you have a tolerable portrait of the writer as he was about making his debut, at 4 P. 
M., July 13th, A. D. 1843, into the deep pit of the Midlothian coal-mine, in Chesterfield 
county, " Ole Virginny." 

My fiiend, guide, and self, each with a lighted lamp, sprang into a basket suspended by 
ropes over pulleys and frame- work, above a yawning abyss seven hundred and seventy-five 
feet deep. The signal was given — puff"! puff"! went the steam-engine, and down, down, 
went we. I endeavored to joke to conceal my trepidation. It was stale business. 
Rapidly glided past the wooden sides of the shaft, — I became dizzy, — shut my eyes, — 
opened them and saw, far, far above, the small faint light of day at top. In one minute — 
it seemed five — we came to the bottom with a bump ! The under-ground superintendent 
made his appearance, covered with coal-dust and perspiration ; his jolly English face 
and hearty welcome augured well for our subterranean researches. Him we followed, 
each with a lighted lamp, through many a labyrinth, down many a ladder, and occa- 
sionally penetrating to the end of a drift, where the men were at work shovelling coal 
into baskets on the cars running on railroads to the mouth of the pit, or boring for blasts. 
We witnessed one or two. The match was put, we retreated a short distance,-*— then 
came the explosion, echoing and re-echoing among the caverns, — a momentary noise of 
falling coal, like a sudden shower of hail, succeeded, and then all was silence. 

The drifts, or passages, are generally about sixteen feet wide, and ten feet high, with 
large pillars of coal intervening about sixty feet square. I can give the idea by com- 
paring the drifts to the streets, and the pillars to the squares of a city in miniature. 
When the company's limits are reached, the pillars will be taken away. The general 



CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. 231 

inclination of the passages is about 30°. Frequently obstacles are met with, and one 
has to descend by ladders, or by steps, cut in solid rock. Doors used in ventilation were 
often met with, through which we crawled. Mules are employed under ground in trans, 
porting the coal on the small railways, coursing nearly all the drifts. They are in excel- 
lent condition, with fine glossy coats of hair, nearly equal well-kept race-horses, which 
is supposed to result from the sulphur in the coal, and the even temperature of the mines. 
Well-arranged stables are there built, and all requisite attention paid them. Some of 
the animals remain below for years, and when carried to the strong light of day, gambol 
like wild horses. 

Partitions of thin plank, attached to timbers put up in the centre of the main drifts, 
are one of the principal means by which the mines are ventilated, aided by a strong 
furnace near the upcast shaft. Near this is a blacksmith-shop. The atmospheric air is 
admitted into the mines down the deepest shaft, and after coursing the entire drifts, and 
ascending to the rise-workings of the mines, is thence conducted to the furnace, where 
it is rarefied, and ascends to the surface, having in its progress become mixed with the 
carbureted hydrogen gas emitted from the coal. When this gas is evolved in unusual 
quantities, greater speed is given to the air by increasing the fire. If the partitions in 
the drifts (known as brattice-work) should be broken, the circulation would be im- 
peded, and the gas so strongly impregnate the air, as in its passage over the furnace to 
ignite, and result in destructive consequences. Or, should too much gas be thrown out 
of the coal when the circulation is impeded from any cause, it would explode on the 
application of a common lamp. In such cases, the Davy lamp is used. I heard the 
gas escaping from the coal make a hissing noise, and I saw it set on fire in crevices of 
the walls by the lamp of our conductor ; and although a novice in these matters, enough 
was seen to convince me of the skill of Mr. Marshall, the company's under-ground 
superintendent, in managing the ventilation. 

Some years since, when ventilation was less understood than at present, an explosion 
took place in a neighboring mine of the most fearful character. Of the fifty-four men 
in the mine, only two, who happened to be in some crevices near the mouth of the shaft, 
escaped with life. Nearly all the internal works of the mine were blown to atoms. 
Such was the force of the explosion, that a basket then descending, containing three 
men, was blown nearly one hundred feet into the air. Two fell out, and were crushed 
to death, and the third remained in, and with the basket was thrown some seventy or 
eighty feet from the shaft, breaking both his legs and arms. He recovered, and is now 
living. It is believed, from the number of bodies found grouped together in the higher 
parts of the mine, that many survived the explosion of the inflammable gas, and were 
destroyed by inhaling the carbonic acid gas which succeeds it. This death is said to be 
very pleasant ; fairy visions float around the sufferer, and he drops into the sleep of 
eternity like one passing into delightful dreams. 

To a person imacquainted with mining, no true conception can be formed of the inte- 
rior of a large and well-arranged coal-mine, unless by examination ; and none but a thor- 
ough adept can give a description of its complicated arrangements. The art of coal- 
mining has progressed rapidly in this vicinity within a few years ; but, unfortunately, 
the trade is now depressed. The Midlothian coal has a beautiful lustre, similar to the 
anthracite. It is believed that no bituminous coal unites qualities so generally adapted 
to all purposes. It has been extensively used in the production of gas and coke, in the 
manufacture of iron, glass, copper, chemicals, for locomotives, steamboats — and for smiths 
and forges it has no superior. As domestic fuel it is equal to the best English coals, and 
far superior to them in strength and durability. It is strange, that with all these qualities, 
a preference should be given at the north to English coal. This is accounted for from 
the fact that formerly large quantities of inferior coal were shipped to the northern ports 
from the north side of James River, and created strong prejudices against Virginia coal 
generally. 

The Midlothian mines employ, in all their operations, some 150 negroes.* They are 

* Shortly after we were at the Midlothian mine, the Rev. Mr. Jeter, of Richmond, made it a visit, and 
having held divine worship there, published an interesting and graphic narration of the scene. A part 
of his description here follows : 

The intelligence of the meeting had spread throughout the cavern, and all had gathered for the service. 
The news had gone beyond the pit, and brought down several from above. By means of logs, puncheons 
and boxes, the congregation were mostly seated in a wide and well-ventilated drift. The small brilliant 
lamps, of which every collier has one, were suspended along the walls of our chapel, creating a dazzling 
light. The congregation consisted of about 80 colored, and 10 white persons. The blacks at my request 
sung a song. Their singing was greatly inferior to that of their colored brethren in the tobacco factories 
at Richmond. I lined a hymn, which was sung, offered a prayer, and preached from John iii. 16. Ths 



232 CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. 

well-fed, clothed, and treated, and in case of sickness are sent to a comfortable hospital, 
under the care of a steward, and daily attended by physicians. I could not but almost 
envy their well-developed muscular figures. The negroes prefer this labor to any other, 
enjoy many perquisites, and generally the labor of the week is performed in five days. 
Singular as it may seem, persons engaged in mining become exceedingly attached to it 
I never knew a person more enamored with his profession than our conductor. He 
eloquently descanted, in a rich brogue, upon the pleasure he experienced in the mine. 
Was he sick, the pure air of the pit — the thermometer being about 60* throughout the 
year — would restore him. Was he hot, there he could become cool. Was he cold, there 
become warm. Was he low-spirited, his employment would bring relief In fine, " the 
pure air of the pit" was a universal panacea, the elixir of life, the infallible remedy for 
all human ills. If his opinion were general, farewell Saratoga, White Sulphur, and 
Rockaway — your glories would be eclipsed by the glories of this ! 

Our conductor, as he took us about, all zeal to show us every thing, and a determina- 
tion that we should not depart until all was seen, would have kept us there I know not 
how long, had not the cry of " All's well !" resounding from cavern to cavern, echoing in 
the recesses and dying in the distance, proclaimed that it was 7 o'clock, the day's work 
finished, and time for us to ascend. Glad was I, for although I had gone through but a 
small portion of the drifts, yet the four miles I did travel, of such " going" was enough 
even for as old a pedestrian as myself. I returned as I came, entered the dressing-house, 
and on looking in the glass, saw a face blackened with coal-dust, which, on a due appli- 
cation of soap and water, I recognised as an old acquaintance. Being duly washed, 
combed, and dressed, I leisurely wended my way to a fine old mansion on the hill, em- 
bowered in a grove of waving locusts, the abode of elegant hospitality. There, seated 
under the porch, with the delicious feeling a comfortable seat always inspires when one 
is greatly fatigued, I passed " twilight's witching hour," — my senses lulled by delightful 
music from the adjoining parlor : anoq, recovering from my revery, I listened to the 
amusing adventures of Col. A., from Texas, or treasured up the particulars of mining 
operations, and anecdotes given by Major W. The music I must not give : heavenly 
sounds produced by fairy fingers, are too ethereal to be materialized by the printer's imp I 
but I will give, in conclusion, an anecdote of the Major's, of a most tragical occurrence. 
Usually comedy, but now tragedy will be the finale, ere the curtain drops. 

Some years since, a gentleman was one autumnal evening hunting in this county in 
the vicinity of some old coal-pits. Straying from his companions, he accidentally slipped 
down the side of an abandoned pit, and caught by one arm a projecting branch on its 
slope. The pit was supposed to be about two hundred feet in perpendicular depth, and 
its bottom a pile of rocks. He heard in the distance the cries of his companions, and 
the yell of the hounds in the chase. He shouted for help, but no answering shout was 
returned, save the echo of his own voice among the recesses of the surrounding forest. 
Soon his companions were far away. Death awaited him — an awful death. His mind 
was intensely excited, and keenly alive to the terrors of his situation. He thought of 
his friends — of all he loved on earth ! and thus to separate ; oh I 'twas agony. Hoarsely 
moaned the wind through the dying leaves of autumn ; coldly shone the moon and 
stars on high, inanimate witnesses of human frailty fast losing its hold upon this life. 
Nature could sustain herself no longer, he bade " farewell to earth," grew weaker and 
weaker, released his grasp and fell — fell about six inches ! This brought him to the 
bottom of the pit, as you, patient reader, are at the bottom of a long letter — all about 
coal too. 

circumstances were impressive and awful. I desired to do good — I spoke without premeditation, and I 
was listened to with devout attention. When I had closed my sermon, I requested my friend N. to follow 
in exhortation and prayer. He arose, attired in the uncouth dress of the mine : and solemn as was the 
scene, and as much as my heart was in unison with it, I could not avoid smiling at the oddity of his 
appearance. The diversion, however, was momentary only. The exhortation was pertinent, and the 
prayer fervent. Many of us felt that God was present. The colored friends sang another song. I was 
desirous of knowing how many professors of religion there were among them ; and first having all seated, 
I requested those who were professing Christians to arise. Thirty arose ; they are all, or nearly all, 
members of the Baptist church. I was gratified to learn from the managers, that many of them are orderly 
and consistent in their deportment; and, generally, that there is a marked difterence between those 
Who do, and those who do not profess religion. A few words of advice and encouragement closed the 
service. The like had never been known in these parts. Mr. Marshall, who had spent many years in 
the English mines, said that he had frequently heard social prayer in the pits, but had never before known 
a sermon delivered in one. To address the living, on the solemn subjects of death, judgment, and eter- 
nity, 800 feet beneath the sleeping-place of the dead, in a pit which bears so striking a resemblance to 
that region of outer darkness into which the impenitent shall be cast, cannot but interest and affect the 
heart. 



CLARICE COUNTY. 



233 



CLARKE. 

Clarke was formed in 1836, from Frederick, and named from 
Gen. Geo. Rogers Clarke; it is 17 miles long, and 15 wide. Its 
surface is undulating, and the soil not surpassed in fertility by any 
other county in the state. The Shenandoah runs through the east- 
ern part, at the foot of the Blue Ridge, and the Opequon near its 
western line. Pop., whites 2,867, slaves 3,325, free colored 161 ; 
total, 6,353. 




Washington's Office and Lodgings at " Soldier's Rest." 



Berry ville, the county-seat, is 160 miles nw. of Richmond, and 
12 east of Winchester. It was established Jan. 15, 1798, on 20 
acres of land belonging to Benjamin Berry and Sarah Strebling, 
and the following gentlemen appointed trustees : Daniel Morgan, 
William M'Guire, Archibald Magill, Rawleigh Colston, John Mil- 
ton, Thomas Strebling, George Blackmore, Charles Smith, and 
Bushrod Taylor. It now contains an Episcopal church, and about 
35 dwellings. About the year 1744, (says Kercheval,) Joseph 
Hampton and two sons came from the eastern shore of Maryland, 
settled on Buck marsh, near Berry ville, and lived the greater part 
of the year in a hollow sycamore tree. They enclosed a piece of 
land and made a crop, preparatory to the removal of the family. 

The village of Berry ville is often called Battletown, from having 
been the scene of many of those pugilistic combats for which 
Gen. Daniel Morgan, of revolutionary memory, was remarkable. 

This officer resided, for a time, about half a mile n. of Battletown, at a seat called 
" Soldier's Rest." It is a plain two-story dwelling, originally built by a Mr. Morton, 
and afterwards added to by Morgan. It is now the residence of Mr. John B. Taylor. 

Morgan subsequently built another, a beautiful seat, now standing in this county, two 
miles NE. of White Post, which he very appropriately named Saratoga. It was erected 
. by Hessians taken prisoners at Saratoga. About 200 yards from " Soldier's Rest," 
stands an old log hut, which well-authenticated tradition states was occupied by Wash- 

30 



234 , CLARKE COUNTY. 

ington while surveying land in this region for Lord Fairfax. It is about 12 feet square, 
and is divided into two rooms ; one in the upper, and the other in the lower story. The 
lower apartment was then, and is now, used as a milk-room. A beautiful spring gushes 
up from the rocks by the house, and flows in a clear, crystal stream, under the building, 
answering admirably the purpose to which it is applied, in cooling this apartment. Many 
years since, both the spring and the building were protected from the heat of the sum- 
mer's sun, by a dense copse of trees. The upper, or attic room, which is about 12 feet 
square, was occupied by Washington as a place of deposite for his surveying instruments, 
and as a lodging — how long, though, is not known. The room was lathed and plas- 
tered. A window was at one end, and a door — up to which led a rough flight of steps 
— at the other. This rude hut is, perhaps, the most interesting relic of that great and 
good man, who became " first in the hearts of his countrymen." It is a memento of 
him in humble life, ere fame had encircled his brows with her choicest laurels, before that 
nation, now among the highest through his exertions, had a being ; but the vicissitudes 
and toils of his youth — as beautifully described in the annexed extract from Bancroft — 
combined to give energy to his character, and that practical, every-day knowledge, 
which better prepared him for the high and important destiny that awaited him : 

At the very time of the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, the woods of Virginia sheltered the youthful 
George Washington, the son of a widow. Born by tlie side of the Potomac, beneath the roof of a West- 
moreland farmer, almost from infancy his lot had been the lot of an orphan. No academy had welcomed 
him to its shades, no college crowned him with its honors : to read, to write, to cipher — these had been 
his degrees in knowledge. And now at sixteen years of age, in quest of an honest maintenance, encoun- 
tering intolerable tnil ; cheered onward by being able to write to a schoolboy friend, " Dear Richard, a 
doubloon is my constant gain every day, and sometimes six pistoles ;" " himself his own cook, having no 
spit but a forked stick, no plate but a large chip;" roaming over spurs of the Alleghanies, and along the 
banks of the Shenandoah ; alive to nature, and sometimes " spending the best of the day in admiring the 
trees and richness of the land;" among skin-clad savages, with their scalps and rattles, or uncouth emi- 
grants " that would never speak English ;" rarely sleeping in a bed ; holding a bear-skin a splendid couch ; 
glad of a resting-place for the night upon a little hay, straw, or fodder, and often camping in the forests, 
where the place nearest the fire was a happy luxury ; — this stripling surveyor in the woods, with no 
companion but his unlettered associates, and no implements of science but his compass and chain, con- 
trasted strangely with the imperial magnificence of the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle. And yet God had 
selected not Kaunitz, nor Newcastle, not a monarch of the house of Hapsburg, nor of Hanover, but the 
Virginia stripling, to give an impulse to human affairs, and, as far as events" can depend upon an indi- 
vidual, had placed the rights and the destinies of countless millions in the keeping of the widow's son. 

Col. Charles M. Thruston, a patriotic clergyman of the Episco- 
pal denomination, who became an officer of the revolutionary 
army, resided for many years on a beautiful farm in this county, 
called Mount Sion, one mile above the Shenandoah. For a bio- 
graphical sketch, see Gloucester county. 

Four miles ne. of Millwood is the "Old Chapel," built in 1796, 
in which the Rt. Rev. Wm. Meade, Bishop of the Episcopal church 
in Va., officiated for many years. It is a venerable-looking stone 
edifice, partly in a grove, and has adjoining it a grave-yard, in 
which lie buried many respectable people of the neighboring 
country. 

Gen. Rogers Clarke, from whom this county derived its name, was an officer of the 
revolution, of undaunted coolness and courage. In addition to the facts given on p. 116, 
we have a single anecdote to relate, published in the " Notes of an Old Officer." At 
the treaty of Fort Washington, where Clarke had but 70 men, 300 Shawnees appeared 
in the council chamber. Their chief made a boisterous speech, and then placed on the 
table a belt of white and black wampum, to intimate they were ready for either peace 
or war, while his 300 savages applauded him by a terrific yell. At the table sat Clarke, 
with only two or three other persons. Clarke, who was leaning on his elbow with ap- 
parent unconcern, with his rattan coolly pushed the wampum on to the ffoor. Then rising 
as the savages muttered their indignation, he trampled on the belt, and with a look *of 
stern defiance and a voice of thunder, that made the stoutest heart quail, bade them in- 
stantly quit the hall. They involuntarily left, and the next day sued for peace. Gen. 
Clarke died in Kentucky, in 1817. 

The subject of the above notice had a brother. Gen. Wm. Clarke, who was scarcely 
less distinguished. lie was born in this state in 1770. When 14 years old, he removed 
with his father's family to Kentucky, where the city of Louisville now stands. It then 
consisted only of a few cabins surrounding a fort, then recently established by his 
brother, Gen. Rogers Clarke. He entered the army, and was lieutenant in 1790. He 



CLARKE COUNTV. 



235 



was the companion of Lewis on the expedition to the Pacific. In 1806, he was ap- 
pointed governor of the territory of Upper Louisiana, and governor of Missouri from 
1813 to 1820, when it was admitted into the Union. He held various offices, among 
which was that of superintendent of Indian affairs. He made many important treaties 
with the Indians. He well understood their character and won their most unbounded 
confidence. " His name was known to the most remote tribes, and his word was every, 
where reverenced by them. They regarded him as a father, and his signature, which 
was known to the most remote tribes, whenever shown was respected." He died in 
1838, aged 68, at St. Louis, where he had resided for over 30 years. 

Millwood, 11 miles southeasterly from Winchester, contains an 
Episcopal church, and about 30 dwellings. It is the centre of a 
beautiful and fertile country, and enjoys a considerable trade with 
it. White Post,* 12 miles se. of Winchester, contains a church, 
2 mercantile stores, and 16 dwellings. 




Greenway Court, the seat of Lord Fairfax. 

Thirteen miles southeast from Winchester, near the village of 
White Post in this county, is Greenway Court, the seat of the late 
Lord Fairfax, the proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia ; 
and at present the residence of the Rev. Mr. Kennerly. 

Part of the immense tract among the rich valleys of the Alle- 
ghany mountains, were surveyed by Washington, and divided into 
lots, to enable the proprietor to claim his quit-rents and give legal 
titles. Washington set off on his first surveying expedition in 
March, 1748, just a month from the day he was sixteen years old, 
in company with George Fairfax, the eldest son of William Fair- 
fax, whose daughter, Washington's eldest brother, Lawrence, had 
married. Sparks, in his Life of Washington, gives the annexed 
account of the proprietor of the Northern Neck : 

Lord Fairfax, a distant relative of William Fairfax, was a man of an eccentric turn 
of mind, of great private worth, generous, and hospitable. He had been accustomed 
to the best society, to which his rank entitled him, in England. While he was at the 

* So named from a white post which Lord Fairfax planted as a guide to his dwelling 
— one mile distant. 



236 CLARKE COUNTY. 

University of Oxford he had a fondness for literature, and his taste and skill in that line 
may be inferred from his having written some of the papers in the Spectator. Possess- 
ing by inheritance a vast tract of country,* situate between the Potomac and Rappa- 
hannock Rivers, and stretching across the Alleghany mountains, he made a voyage to 
Virginia to examine this domain. So well pleased was he with the climate and mode 
of life, that he resolved, after going back to England and arranging his affairs, to re- 
turn and spend his days amidst this wild territory. At the time (1748) of which we are 
now speaking, he had just arrived to execute his purpose, and was residing with his 
relatives at Belvoir. This was his home for several years ; but he at length removed 
over the Blue Ridge, built a house in the Shenandoah Valley, called Greenway Court, 
and cultivated a large farm. Here he lived in comparative seclusion, often amusing himself 
with hunting, but chiefly devoted to the care of his estate, to acts of benevolence among 
his tenants, and to such public duties as devolved upon him in the narrow sphere he had 
chosen ; a friend of liberty, honored for his uprightness, esteemed for the amenity of his 
manners, and his practical virtues. 

The prominent building shown in the view at Greenway Court, 
was appropriated to the use of the steward of Fairfax. It was the 
commencement of a series of buildings which Lord Fairfax had 
intended to erect, but did not live to complete. 

His lordship lived and died in a single clap-board story and a half house, which stood 
just in front of the modern brick dwelling of Mr. Kennerly, and was destroyed in 1834. 
There are now several of the original buildings standing at the place : among them is 
a small limestone structure, where quit-rents were given and titles drawn, of his lord- 
ship's domains. Fairfax had, probably, 150 negro servants, who lived in log huts 
scattered about in the woods. 

A few years since, in excavating the ground near the house, the servants of Mr. Ken. 
nerly discovered a large quantity of joes and half-joes, amounting to about ^250 ; they 
were what is termed cob-coin, of a square form, and dated about 1730. They were 
supposed to have been secreted there by Lord Fairfax. Under a shelving rock, 9 feet 
from the surface, there was also found a human skeleton of gigantic stature ; supposed to 
be that of an Indian. 

When Lord Dunmore went on his expedition against the Indians in 1774, he came on 
as far as this place with a portion of his troops, and waited here about a fortnight for 
reinforcements. His soldiers encamped in what was then a grove — now a meadow — 
about 300 yards n. of Mr. Kennerly's present residence. The spot is indicated by a 
deep well, supposed to have been dug by them ; an old magazine, destroyed in 1843, 
stood near the well. Washington, when recruiting at Winchester, often visited this 
place. 

Lord Fairfax had but little cultivated ground around his premises, and that was in 
small patches without taste or design. The land was left for a park, and he lived al- 
most wholly from his rents. The following, as well as much of the foregoing, respecting 
him, is traditionary : His lordship was a dark, swarthy man, several inches over 6 feet 
in height, and of a gigantic frame and personal strength. He lived the hfe of a bache- 
lor, and fared coarse, adopting in that respect the rough customs of the people among 
whom he was. When in the humor, he was generous — giving away whole farms to his 
tenants, and simply demanding for rent some trifle, for instance, a present of a turkey 
for his Christmas dinner. He was passionately fond of hunting, and often passed weeks 
together in the pleasures of the chase. When on these [expeditions, he made it a 
rule, that he who got the fox, cut off his tail, and held it up, should share in the jollifi- 
cation which was to follow, free of expense. Soon as a fox was started, the young men 
of the company usually dashed after him with great impetuosity, while Fairfax leisurely 

* The domain of Lord Fairfax, called the Northern Neck of Virginia, included the 
immense territory now comprising the counties of Lancaster, Northumberland, Rich- 
mond, Westmoreland, Stafford, King George, Prince William, Fairfax, Loudoun, Fau- 
quier, Culpeper, Clarke, Madison, Page, Shenandoah, Hardy, Hampshire, Morgan, 
Berkeley, Jefferson, and Frederick. Charles II. granted to the ancestors of Lord Fair. 
fax, all lands lying between the head-waters of the Rappahannock and Potomac to the ■^^ 
Chesapeake Bay ; a territory comprising about one quarter of the present limits of Vir- 
ginia. For a full history of the Northern Neck, the reader is referred to Kercheval's 
History of the Valley of Virginia. 



CULrEPER COUXTY. 237 

waited behind, with a favorite servant who was familiar with the water-courses, and of 
a quick ear, to discover the course of the fox. Following his directions, his lordship 
would start after the game, and, in most instances, secure the prize, and stick the tail 
of the fox in his hat in triumph. 

Lord Fairfax died at the advanced age of ninety -two, in the autumn of 1782, soon after 
the surrender of Cornwallis, an event he is said to have much lamented. He was buried 
at Winchester, under the communion-table of the old Episcopal church. [See Win- 
chester.] 



CULPEPER. 

CuLPEPER was formed in 1748, from Orange, and named from 
Lord Culpeper, governor of Virginia from 1680 to 1683. It has 
an average length of about 20, with a breadth of 18 miles, and 
has been much reduced from its original limits. The Rappahan- 
nock runs upon its ne. and the Rapid Ann upon its se. and sw. 
boundaries. The surface is beautifully diversified, and the soil of a 
deep red hue and very fertile. Pop. 1830, 24,026 ; 1840, whites 
4,933, slaves 6,069, free colored 491 ; total 11,393. 

Besides the Court-House there are the villages of Jeffersonton 
and Stevensburg ; the first contains a Baptist church and about 
50 dvi^ellings, the last about 30 dwellings. Fairfax, the county- 
seat, was named after Lord Fairfax, the original proprietor of the 
county. It was founded in 1759 ; it is 98 m. from Richmond, and 
82 from Washington city, and contains 1 Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, 
and 1 Baptist church, 5 stores, and about 700 inhabitants. In one 
of the books in the clerk's office, in the ancient and venerable- 
looking court-house in this village, is the annexed entry : 

20th July, 1749, (O. S.)— GEORGE WASHINGTON, Gent., produced a commis- 
sion from the President and Master of William and Mary College, appointing him to be 
surveyor of this county, which was read, and thereupon he took the usual oaths to hia 
majesty's person and government, and took and subscribed the abjuration oath and test, 
and then took the oath of surveyor, according to law. 

Culpeper was distinguished early in the war of the revolution 
for the services of her gallant minute-men, who, as Mr. Randolph 
said in the U. S. Senate, " were raised in a minute, armed in a 
minute, marched in a minute, fought in a minute, and vanquished 
in a minute." 

Immediately on the breaking out of the war in 1775, Patrick Henry, then commander 
of the Virginia troops, sent to this section of the colony for assistance. Upon his sum- 
mons, 150 men from Culpeper, 100 from Orange, and 100 from Fauquier, rendezvoused 
here and encamped in a field now the property of John S. Barber, Esq., half a mile 
west of the court-house. An old oak now standing, marks the spot. These were the 
first minute-men raised in Virginia. They formed themselves into a regiment, choosing 
Lawrence Taliaferro of Orange, colonel ; Edward Stevens of Culpeper, lieutenant- 
colonel ; and Thomas Marshall of Fauquier — the father of Chief-Justice Marshall — 
major. The flag used by the Culpeper men is depicted in the accompanying engraving, 
with a rattlesnake in the centre. The head of the snake was intended for Virginia, and 
the 12 rattles for the other 12 states. This corps were dressed in green hunting-shirts, 
with the words " LIBERTY OR DEATH !"* in large white letters on their bosoms. 

* A wag, on seeing this, remarked it was too severe for him ; but that he was willing to enlist if the 
Words were altered to " Liberty or I)e crippled !" 



238 



CULPEPRR COUNTY. 



They wore in their hats buck-tails, and in their belts tomahawks and scalping-knives 
Their savage, warlike appearance, excited the terror of the inhabitants as they marched 
through the country to Williamsburg. Shortly after their arrival at that place, about 




150 of them — those armed with rifles — marched into Norfolk co., and were engaged in 
the battle of the Great Bridge. Among them was Chief-Justice Marshall, then a lieu- 
tenant, and Gen. Edward Stephens. 

In the course of the war, 8 companies of 84 men each, were formed in Culpeper for 
the continental service. They were raised by the following captains : John Green,* 

John Thornton, George Slaughter, Gabriel Long, Gabriel Jones, John Gillison,t 

M'Clanahan,!: and Abraham Buford.§ 

Virginia raised, in the beginning of the war, 15 continental regiments of about 800 
men, besides 3 state regiments of regular troops, not subject to be ordered out of the 
state. Besides these were Lee's legion, composed of two companies of cavalry and two 
of infantry, a regiment of artillery under Col. Harrison, Col. Baylor's and Col. Bland's 
regiments of cavalry, and the corps of horse raised by Col. Nelson. These, we believe, 
comprised most if not all the regular troops raised by the state. They became reduced 
to one quarter of their original number before the war was over, particularly by disease 
and the casualties of battle in the southern campaigns. From this statement — supplied 
from the memory of a surviving officer of the Virginia line — it will be seen that Culpeper 
bore her full share of the burden of war. On the same authority we state, that in skir- 
mishes, when the numbers were equal, the American troops were superior to the British. 
The former took aim ; the latter fired with their pieces brought on a level with the hip. 
Hence the superiority of the Americans on these occasions. They despised the English 
as being no marksmen. 

Capt. Philip Slaughter, now (1844) residing in this co., is probably the only officer 
living in Virginia who served in the continental establishment throughout the revolution. 
At the age of 17 years he entered the Culpeper minute-men as a private, and marched 
with them to Williamsburg shortly after the hegira of Dunmore. Having received the 
commission of lieutenant, he marched to the north in the fall of 1776 with the ^th Vir- 
ginia continental regiment. Daniel Morgan was then colonel of this corps, anB~ora~ 
volunteer rifle regiment. There Slaughter remained until the commencement of the 
year 1780, and was in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and at the 
storming of Stony Point. He spent the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge. His mess- 

* John Green was afterwards a colonel. While storming a breastwork he was wounded in the shoul- 
der and made a cripple for life. He died about 30 years ago. 

t John Gillison, while gallantly leading on his men to attack the enemy at Brandywine, to prevent 
them making prisoners the company of Capt. Long, was struck in the forehead by a musket ball. The 
surgeon examined the wotmd, and then lifting up his hands, exclaimed, "Oh, captain ! it is a noble 
wound. Right in the middle of the forehead, and no harm done." The wound soon healed, and left a 
scar of which any soldier might have been proud. 

t Capt. M'Clanahan was a Baptist clergyman, and at first regularly preached to his men. His recruits 
were drawn principally from his own denomination, in conformity with the wishes of the legislature, 
who invited the members of particular religious societies, especially Baptists and Methodists, to organize 
themselves into separate companies under officers of their own principles. The Baptists were among the 
most strenuous supporters of liberty. 

« Abraham Buford was the Col. Buford defeated by Tarleton, May 29th, 1780, at the Waxhaws, neai 
the borders of North Carolina. 



CULPEPER COUNTY. ^/ *■' djt^- 239 

mates were Lieut. Robert (afterwards Gen.) Porterfield, Capt. Chas. Porterfield, Capt 
Johnson, and Lieut. John (afterwards Chief-Justice) Marsliall, /' There they were all re- 
duced to great deprivations in the want of food and cIotTiing. They bore their suffer- 
ings without murmur, being fortified by an undaunted patriotism. Most of the officers 
gave to their almosst naked soldiers nearly the whole of their clothing, reserving only 
that they themselves had on. Slaughter was reduced to a single shirt. While this was 
being washed, he wrapped himself in a blanket. From the breast of his only shirt he 
had wristbands and a collar made, to complete his uniform for parade. Many of his 
brother officers were still worse off, having no under garment at all ; and not one soldier 
in five had a blanket. They all lived in rude huts, and the snow was knee-deep the 
whole winter. Washington daily invited the officers in rotation, to dine with him at hi3 
private table ; but for want of decent clothing, few were enabled to attend. Slaughter 
being so much better provided, frequently went in the place of others, that, as he said. 
" his regiment might be represented." While in this starving condition, the country 
people brought food to the camp. Often the Dutch women were seen riding in, sitting 
on bags on their horses' backs, holding two or three bushels each of apple pies, baked 
sufficiently hard to be thrown across the room without breaking. These were purchased 
eagerly, eaten with avidity, and considered a great luxury. 

Slaughter performed the duties of captain, paymaster, and clothier. He was promoted 
to a captaincy in 1778, he then being not 20 years of age. He has in his possession a 
brief journal of the movements of the troops during the time he was in service, and 
certificates of his soldier-like conduct from Chief-Justice Marshall, Gen. Robert Porter- 
field, and Col. Jamieson. 

As tending to show the chivalrous feelings among the Virginia officers, we will state, 
that one of them, on his promotion to a captaincy, wrote the name of the lady to whom 
he was engaged upon his commission, declaring, at the same time, that it should never 
be disgraced with her name upon it. It never was disgraced. The same officer, while 
in camp in New Jersey, heard that a wealthy gentleman was laying siege to the affec- 
tions of his betrothed, and was advised to return home. Failing in his application for a 
furlough, he dispatched a sergeant on horseback with a letter — there being no mails — to 
the friend in Virginia from whom he received the information, making further inquiries. 
The distance there and back was 500 miles. The messenger returned with an answer 
that quieted the apprehensions of the officer, and he married the lady after the war. 

Capt. Slaughter has held various civil offices, among which was that of high sheriff 
of Culpeper. He has married twice, had 19 children, and numbers among his descend- 
ants nearly 100 souls. From the lips of this venerable and patriotic old man, we have 
received most of the information embodied in the two preceding pages. 

It is well known that dissenters generally, and the Baptist cler- 
gymen in particular, were persecuted for opinion's sake in Virginia 
previous to the war of the revolution. (On this point more par- 
ticularly, see Middlesex county.) One among the many suffer- 
ers by this mistaken mode of what was deemed the suppression of 
error, was the Rev. James Ireland, a worthy clergyman of the 
Baptist persuasion, who was forcibly seized and imprisoned in the 
jail of this county. While there confined, several attempts were 
made to murder him, of which he has given the following nar- 
rative : 

A number of my persecutors resorted to the tavern of Mr. Steward, at the court-house, 
where they plotted to blow me up with powder that night, as I was informed, but all they 
could collect was half a pound. They fixed it for explosion, expecting I was sitting directly 
over it, but in this they were mistaken. Fire was put to it, and it went off with consid- 
erable noise, forcing up a small plank, from which I received no damage. The next 
scheme they devised was to smoke me with brimstone and Indian pepper. They had 
to wait certain opportunities to accomplish the same. The lower part of the jail door 
was a few inches above its sill. When the wind was favorable, they would get pods of 
Indian pepper, empty them of their contents, and fill them with brimstone and set them 
burning, so that the whole jail would be filled with the killing smoke, and oblige me to go 
to cracks and put my mouth to them, in order to prevent suffocation. At length a cer- 
tain doctor, and the jailer, formed a scheme to poison me, which they actually effected. 

This last-mentioned act of diabolical malevolence, came near 



240 



CUMBERLAND COUNTY 



costing Mr. Ireland his life. He was made extremely ill, and his 
constitution never recovered from the injury. He however bore 
up against these persecutions with Christian fortitude. He said, 
in giving an account of his persecutions : 

My prison then, was a place in which I enjoyed much of the Divine presence ; a day 
seldom passed without some signal token of the Divine goodness towards me, which 
generally led me to subscribe my letters in these words, " From my Palace in Cul- 
peper." 

In a family burying-ground, half a mile n. of Culpeper C. H., is 
a monument bearing the following inscription : 



IN MEMORY OF 

GENERAL EDWARD STEVENS, 

WHO DIED 

AUGUST THE 17tH, 1820, 

At his seat in Culpeper, in the 76th year of bis age. 
This gallant officer and upright man, had served his country with reputa- 
tion in the Field and Senate of his native state. He took an active part, and 
had a principal share in the war of the revolution, and acquired great dis- 
tinction at the battles of Great Bridge, Brandywine, Germantown, Camden, 
Guilford Court-House, and Siege of York ; and although zealous in the 
cause of American Freedom, his conduct was not marked with the least de- 
gree of malevolence, or party spirit. Those who honestly differed with him 
in opinion, he always treated with singular tenderness. In strict integrity, 
honest patriotism, and immoveable courage, he was surpassed by none, and 
had few equals. 



Gen. Stevens resided in the village of Culpeper C. H., in the house on the corner of 
Coleman and Fairfax streets, now occupied by Mrs. Lightfoot. Aside from the above, 
we have but little to add respecting this highly meritorious officer. The histories of the 
revolution make such honorable mention of him, that it is evident his epitaph is no ful- 
some eulogy. At the battle of Guilford Court-House, " the brave and gallant Stevens," 
animated his men by words, and still more by his example. Resolved to make even the 
timid perform their duty, he placed several riflemen in the rear, with peremptory orders 
to shoot down any of his militia that should attempt to escape before a retreat was or- 
dered. In this action he received a ball in the thigh, but he enjoyed the reflection that 
his men had made a noble stand, and displayed an honorable firmness in opposing the 
enemy, by whom they were at last, after an obstinate conflict, driven back by an over- 
whelming force at the bayonet's point. 



CUMBERLAND. 

Cumberland was formed in 1748, from Goochland. It is 32 miles 
long and about 10 broad, with the Appomattox running on its s., 
the James River on its n. boundary, and Willis River through its 
Nw. portion. The surface is undulating, and the soil productive. 
Pop. 1830, 11,689; 1840, whites 3,263, slaves 6,791, free colored 
355 ; total, 10,399. 

Cartersville, on the James River, contains a church and about 50 
dwellings. Ca Ira, 5 miles w. of the C. H., has an Episcopal church 
and 10 dwellings. Cumberland court-house is in the southern part 
of the county, about 52 miles from Richmond. The village has not 
increased since the Marquis de Chastellux was here, about the 
year 1782. In his travels, he says: 

Besides the court-house and a large tavern, its necessary appendage, there are seven 
or eight houses, inhabited by gentlemen of fortune. I found the tavern full of people, 



CUMBERLAND COUNTY. 241 

and understood that the judges were assembled to hold a court of claims, that is to say, 
to hear and register the claims of sundry persons who had furnished provisions for the 
army. We know that in general, but particularly in unexpected invasions, the Ameri- 
can troops had no established magazines, and as it was necessary to have subsistence for 
them, provisions and forage were indiscriminately laid hold of, on giving the holders a 
receipt, which they called a certificate. During the campaign, while the enemy were 
at hand, little attention was given to this sort of loans, which accumulated incessantly, 
without the sum total being known, or any means taken to ascertain the proofs. Vir« 
ginia being at length loaded with these certificates, it became necessary, sooner or later, 
to liquidate these claims. The last assembly of the state of Virginia had accordingly 
thought proper to pass a bill, authorizing the justices of each county to take cognizance 
of these certificates, to authenticate their validity, and to register them, specifying the 
value of the provisions in money, according to the established tariff. I had the curiosity 
to go to the court-house to see how this affair was transacted, and saw it was performed 
with great order and simplicity. The judges wore their common clothes, but were 
seated on an elevated tribunal, as at London in the Court of King's Bench, or Common 
Pleas. 



Gen. Charles Scott, a distinguished officer of the revolution, 
and subsequently governor of Kentucky, was born near the line 
of this and Powhatan county. The present residence of Mr. 
Thomas Palmer, in the upper part of that county, was built by 
him. 

Scott raised the first company of volunteers in Virginia, south of the James River, that 
entered into actual service ; and so distinguished himself prior to 1777, that when 
Powhatan county was formed in that year, the county-seat was named in honor of him. 
When governor of Kentucky, he had some severe battles with the Indians, in which he 
lost two sons. Immediately after St. Clair's defeat. Gen. Scott, at the head of a body 
of Kentucky cavalry, reconnoitred the battle-ground. Finding the Indians still there, 
rejoicing over their victory in a drunken revelry, he surprised and fell upon them. Being 
totally unprepared, they were routed with great slaughter. About two hundred of them 
were killed, and he recovered six hundred muskets, and all the artillery and baggage 
remaining in the field. This, the most brilliant affair of the war, in a measure " dispel- 
led the gloom occasioned by the misfortune of St. Clair, and threw, by the power of 
contrast, a darker shade of disgrace over that unfortunate general's miscarriage." 

Scott was a man of strong natural powers, but somewhat illiterate and rough in his 
manners. He was eccentric, and many amusing anecdotes are related of him. When 
a candidate for governor, he was opposed by Col. Allen, a native of Kentucky, who, in 
an address to the people when Scott was present, made an eloquent appeal. The 
friends of the latter, knowing he was no orator, felt distressed for him, but Scott, no- 
thing daunted, mounted the stump, and addressed the company, nearly as follows : 

" Well, boys, I am sure you must all be well pleased with the speech you have just heard. It does my 
heart good to think we have so smart a man raised up among: us here. He is a native Kentucltian. I see 
a good many of you here that I brought out to this country when a wilderness. At that time we hardly 
expected we should live to see such a smart man raised up among ourselves. You, who were with me in 
those early times, know we had no time for education, no means of improving from books, We dared not 
then go about our most common affairs without arms in our hands, to defend ourselves against the In- 
dians. But we guarded and protected the country, and now every one can go where he pleases ; and 
you now see what smart fellows are growing up to do their country honor. But I think it would be 
a pity to make this man governor ; I think it would be better to send him to Congress. I don't think it 
requires a very smart man to make a governor ; if he has sense enough to gather smart men abotit 
who can help him on with the business of state. It would suit a worn-out old wife of a man like 
myself. But, as to this young man, I am very proud of him ; as much so as any of his kin, if any of 
them have been here to-day, listening to his speech." Scott then descended from the stump, and the 
huzzas for the old soldier made the welkin ring. 

Scott had the greatest veneration for Washington ; and while governor of Kentucky, 
he visited Philadelphia during the session of Congress. Attired in the rough garb of 
the backwoods, with a hunting-shirt, buckskin leggings, and a long beard, he gave out 
that he was going to visit the president. He was told that Washington had become 
puffed up with the importance of his station, and was too much of an aristocrat to wel- 
come him in that garb. Scott, nothing daunted, passed up to the house of the president, 
who, with his lady, happened to be at the window, and recognising the old soldier, 
rushed out, and each taking him by the arm, led him in. " Never," said Scott, " waa 

31 



242 DINWIDDIE COUNTY. 

I better treated. I had not believed a word against him ; and I found that he was 
• old boss'* still." 

Major Joseph Scott, a brother of the above, was an officer of the revolutionary 
army, and was appointed marshal of Virginia by Jefferson, under the following circum- 
stances : Major Joseph Eggleston, from Amelia, who had been a meritorious officer of 
Lee's legion through the whole of the southern campaigns, and a member of Congress in 
1798-99, was tendered the office by the president. This he declined, but recommended 
his old friend and companion in arms. Major Scott, then a steward upon the estate of 
John Randolph. The first intimation Scott had of the matter was the reception of the 
appointment, which was extremely gratifying ; he being at the time in necessitous cir- 
cumstances. 



DINWIDDIE. 

DmwiDDiE was formed in 1752, from Prince George, and named 
from Robert Dinwiddie, governor of Va. from 1752 to 1758. The 
surface is rolling, and its form hexagonal, with a diameter of about 
28 miles. The Appomattox runs on its n., the Nottaway on its s. 
boundary, and the great southern railroad through its eastern por- 
tion. Pop. 1830, 21,901 ; 1840, whites 9,847, slaves 9,947, free 
colored 2,764 ; total, 22,558. The court-house is centrally situa- 
ted upon a branch of the Nottaway. 

The large, wealthy, and flourishing town of Petersburg, is situ- 
ated at the northeastern angle of the county, on the south bank of 
the Appomattox, 22 miles s. of Richmond, and 9 s. w. of City 
Point, on the line of the great southern railroad, with which last- 
named place there is also a railroad communication. The harbor 
admits vessels of considerable draught, and even ships come up as 
far as Walthall's Landing, 6 miles below the town, where there is 
a branch railroad about 3 miles in length, connecting with the 
Richmond and Petersburg railroad. It contains 2 Epis., 2 Pres., 
2 Meth., 1 Bap., and 1 Catholic church, besides those for colored 
people. It exports largely tobacco and flour, and there were, in 
1843, belonging to this place, the following cotton manufactories, 
viz : Merchants co., Matoaca co., Ettricks co.. Mechanics co., Bat- 
tersea co., Canal Mills, Washington Mill, and the Eagle Mill. The 
goods here manufactured have a high reputation. There is also a 
very large number of tobacco factories. There were inspected 
here in 1843, 11,942 hogsheads of tobacco. Petersburg contains 
branches of the Bank of Va., Farmers Bank of Va., and the Ex- 
change Bank of Va. The tonnage in 1840, was 3,098. There 
were 6 commercial and 8 commission houses engaged in foreign 
trade, capital $875,000; 121 retail stores, capital $1,026,250; 2 
lumber yards, cap. $6,000 ; 1 furnace, 6 forges, 1 woollen facto- 
ry, 1 pottery, 2 rope-walks, 2 flouring-mills, 1 grist-mill, 2 saw- 
mills, 2 printing offices, 1 semi- weekly newspaper. Cap. in manu- 
facturing $720,555. Pop. in 1830, 8,322 ; 1840, 11,136. 

As early as 1645-6, a fort called Fort Henry, was established at the falls of the Ap- 

* " Old hoss" was a term frequently applied by the soldiers of the revolntion to their commander 
in chief. 



niNWIDDIE COUNTY. 243 

pomattox, where Petersburg now is, for the defence of the inhabitants on the south side 
of James river. 

In 1675, war being declared against the Indians, 500 men were ordered to proceed to 
the frontier, and eight forts garrisoned. Among these was the one near the falls of the 
Appomattox, at Major General Wood's, " or over against him at one ffort or defensible 
place at ffleets, of which Major Peter Jones be captain or chief commander." 

In 1728, fifty-three years after, Col. Byrd, on his return from the expedition in which 
he was engaged as one of the Virginia commissioners, in running the line between this 
state and North Carolina, mentions the site of Petersburg, as follows : " At the end of 
thirty good miles, we arrived in the evening at Col. Boiling's, where from a primitive 
course of life we began to relax into luxury. This gentleman lives within hearing of 
the falls of Appomattox river, which are very noisy whenever a flood happens to roll a 
greater stream than ordinary over the rocks. The river is navigable for small craft as 
high as the falls, and, at some distance from them, fetches a compass and runs nearly 
parallel with James River, almost as high as the mountains." 

By an act passed in 1646, it appears that 600 acres of land adjacent to Fort Henry, 
together with all the " houses and edifices" appurtenant thereto, were at that time 
granted to Captain Abraham Wood in fee-simple ; yet he was not the earliest settler ; 
for, by the same act, it appears that the land on which the fort stood, together with part 
of the adjacent 600 acres, had been granted to Thomas Pitt. He may, therefore, be 
considered the earliest proprietor of the site of Petersburg, it having been granted to 
him previous to 1646. The town derived its name from Peter Jones, who opened a 
trading establishment with the Indians at an early day, a few rods west of what is now 
the junction of Sycamore and Old streets. The locality was called Peter's Point, sub- 
sequently changed to Petersburg. 

This Peter Jones was an old friend and fellow-traveller of Col. William Byrd, of 
Westover ; and in 1733, accompanied the latter on a journey to Roanoke, on which 
occasion the plan of establishing Richmond and Petersburg was conceived. Byrd says, 
in his journal, " When we got home, we laid the foundation of two large cities — one at 
Shacco's, to be called Richmond, and the other at the point of Appomattox River, to be 
called Petersburg. These Major Mayo offered to lay off into lots, without fee or reward- 
The truth of it is, these two places being the uppermost landing of James and Appo- 
mattox rivers, are naturally intended for marts, where the traffic of the outer inhabitants 
must centre. Thus we did not build castles only, but cities, in the air.'' 

In the October session, in 1748, in the 22d year of the reign of King George II., the 
towns of Petersburg and Blandford were established. Four years later an act was 
passed, allowing a bridge to be built by subscription over the Appomattox, at Boiling's 
Point, " to the land of John Boiling, gentleman ;" which was probably the first bridge 
ever built over the river. In 1762, in the preamble to an act enlarging the town, it is 
stated that it " had very greatly increased, and become a place of considerable trade." 
At that time Robert Boiling, Roger Atkinson, William Eaton, John Bannister, Robert 
Ruffin, Thomas Jones, Henry Walker, George Turnbull, and James Field, gentlemen, 
were appointed trustees for laying out the town. In 1784, Petersburg was incorporated, 
and Blandford, Pocahontas, and Ravenscrofts, united with it. 

In the war of the revolution, Petersburg was twice visited by the enemy. On the 
22d of April, 1781, the British, under Gen. Phillips, left Williamsburg, sailed up the 
James, and on the 24th landed at City Point. " The next day," says Girardin's Hist, 
of Va., " they marched up to Petersburg, where Baron Steuben received them with a 
body of militia, somewhat under 1000 men. Although the enemy were 2,300 strong, 
Steuben opposed their progress. For two hours, he skilfully and bravely disputed the 
ground with them ; the assailants were twice broken, and precipitately ran back until 
■ supported by fresh troops. During the interval of time just stated, they gained but a 
mile, and that by inches. The inferiority of the Virginians in numbers obliged them to 
withdraw about 12 miles up the Appomattox, till more militia should be assembled. 
They retired in good order over a bridge, which was taken up as soon as the militia 
passed, so as to secure their retreat. The whole loss of the Virginians, in killed, 
wounded, and taken, amounted to about 60. That sustained by the enemy, was con- 
jectured to be more considerable."* 

From an article entitled " Reminiscences of the British at BoU 

* Iileut.-Col. Simcoe, in his "Journal of the operations of the Queen's Rangers," states the loss of the 
British at one man killed and 10 wounded, of the light infantry-. 



244 PINWIDDIE COUNTY. 

lingbrooJc,"* published in the Southern Literarj?- Messenger of 
January, 1840, we extract some interesting facts : 

There is, perhaps, no house in Virginia connected with a greater number of military 
revolutionary recollections, than Bollingbrook, in the town of Petersburg. 

On the approach of the enemy, a large portion of the people of the town made their 
escape. General Phillips took up his residence at Bollingbrook. He and the officers of 
his family are said to have treated Mrs. Boiling with a good deal of courtesy, and (some 
add) addressed her always as Lady Boiling. Arnold is recollected as a handsome man, 
that limped in his gait.t He was fond of caressing the children of the family, and dan- 
dled them on his knee. 

Both the houses on Bollingbrook hill were occupied by British officers. t Mrs. Boiling 
was allowed the use of a room in the rear of the east building. Two sentinels were 
placed at each door of the house with Crossed bayonets. The British soldiery repeatedly 
set on fire the fences about Bollingbrook, and frequently " all around was in a light 
blaze."§ Upon these occasions, Mrs. -Boiling was obliged to send her servants to arrest 
the flames, and she was thus kept in a state of continual apprehension and alarm. 

On the next day after his arrival, (to wit, the 26th of April,) General Phillips (accord- 
ing to Arnold's letter to Sir Harry Clinton) burnt 4000 hhds. of tobacco. The ware- 
houses which belonged to Mrs. Boiling, at her solicitation, were spared on condition that 
the inhabitants should remove the tobacco from them, which was accordingly done, by 
extraordinary exertions, during the night of the 25th. This conflagration must have 
presented a striking and picturesque spectacle. The scarlet-dressed soldiers moving 
about amidst the flames, scattering the fire-brands, and officiating in the work of de- 
struction — the burning of the shipping on the river, reflecting its lurid glare on Poca- 
hontas and Blandford — heightened the effect of the scene. 

Arnold, on dit, cautioned Mrs. Boiling to be careful in her intercourse with General 
Phillips, not to irritate him, as he was a man of an ungovernable temper. This lady, 
during that period of terror, suflfered an intense solicitude and anxiety, which discovered 
itself in her unconsciously darning the needles, with which she was knitting, into the 
bed by which she sat. Her conduct during this trying crisis, displayed a heroism which 
doubtless won the respect of the British officers; who are in general " men of honor 
and cavahers." 

After committing devastations at Osborne's, Manchester, Warwick, &c., the enemy 
set sail, and proceeded down James River, until, receiving (near Hog Island) counter- 
manding orders, they returned up the river. On the 7th of May, they landed in a gale 
of wind at Brandon ; and on the 9th, marched 30 miles, and entered Petersburg late in 
the night. They came so unexpectedly as to surprise ten American officers, who were 
there for the purpose of collecting boats to convey the army of the Marquis de Lafayette 
across the James River. 

General Phillips entered Petersburg this second time, sick of a bilious fever ; — he ar- 
rived on the 9th of May, and breathed his last on the 13th, at Bollingbrook. He lay 
sick in the west room front of the east building. During the illness of General Phillips, 
the town was cannonaded by Lafayette from Archer's hill,|| and it is commonly re- 
ported that he died while the cannonade was going on. It seems, however, more pro- 
bable, that this cannonade occurred on the 10th, when Lafayette (according to Ar- 
nold's letter) " appeared with a strong escort on the opposite side of the river, IT and 
having stayed some time to reconnoitre, returned to Osborne's." Cannon-balls fired upon 
that occasion, were preserved in the town some years ago, and may be yet extant. The 
Americans being aware that Bollingbrook was head-quarters, directed their shot par- 

* These reminiscences were written by Chas. Campbell, Esq., of Petersburg, a gen- 
tleman better informed upon the history of eastern Virginia than any one we have met 
in the course of our investigations, and to whom we are indebted for much valuable in- 
formation. 

t From a wound received at Saratoga, where Phillips was made captive with Bur- 
goyne's army. 

t There was then a tavern somewhere near the corner of Old and Market streets, 
called the " Golden Ball," at which a number of the British quartered. 

§ Chastellux says, speaking of the enclosure, " It was formerly surrounded by rails, 
and she raised a number of fine horses there, but the English burnt the fences, and car- 
ried away a great number of the horses.'' 

tl On the north side of the river opposite the town. 

^ The Appomattox. > 



3 ? 



c ^ 
_, 3 
— o 



f- 3 



> = 



c ^ 



S5 re 




DINWIDDIE COUNTY. 245 

ticularly at that house,* a measure which, considering the sickness of General Philhps, 
would hardly have been justifiable, but for the horrid series of devastations in which he 
had just been engaged, in company with that odious traitor Arnold. This officer, in 
the early part of the cannonade, was walking across the yard, until a ball having passed 
very near him, he hastened into the house, and directed all the inmates to go down into 
the cellar for shelter.t General Phillips was removed down there. Mrs. Boiling also 
took refuge there, with one or two ladies who were with her. Anbureyt (if memory 
serves) mentions that during the firing of the American artillery, Phillips, being then at 
the point of death, exclaimed — " Wont they let me die in peace?" 

Gen. Phillips died on the 13th of May, and was buried in the grave-yard adjoining 
Blandford church. There reposes one, of whom Mr. Jefferson said — " he is the proud- 
est man, of the proudest nation on earth." 

On the 20th of May, 1781, just one week after the death of Phillips, Lord Cornwallis 
entered Petersburg on his route from Wilmington, North Carolina. He remained in 
Petersburg only three or four days, and, as is understood, made his head-quarters at Bol- 
lingbrook. General O'Hara, it appears, was quartered at what is commonly styled the 
" Long Ornary," — about a mile to the west of Petersburg, on the main road. Mrs. 
Boiling found it necessary to visit this officer at that place, for the purpose of recovering 
certain negroes and horses, which had been taken from her, and were then there. The 
general consented to restore the slaves, but with respect to the horses proved quite in- 
exorable. He is described as a harsh, uncouth person. He was wounded at the battle 
of Guilford, and surrendered Lord Cornwallis' sword at Yorktown. 

At the siege of Toulon, in a sortie made by the youthful Napoleon, a grenadier in 
the darkness of the night drew a woundffd prisoner down into a ditch ; that prisoner 
was Major-Genera! O'Hara, of " Long Ornary" memory, commander-in-chief of the 
British forces. 



On the 21st of October, 1812, 103 young men from this place 
and vicinity embarked in the service of their country, and conse- 
crated their valor at the battle of Fort Meigs, on the 5th of May, 
1813. They were extensively known as the '^ Petersburg Volun- 
teers.'' They remained in service one year, and on their discharge 
received the following highly commendatory testimonial of their 
gallant and soldier-like conduct. 

General Orders. 

Head-Quarters, Detroit, 17th October, 1813. 
The term of service for which the Petersburg Volunteers were engaged having ex- 
pired, they are permitted to commence their march to Virginia, as soon as they can be 
transported to the south side of the lake. 

In granting a discharge to this patriotic and gallant corps, the General feels at a loss 
for words adequate to convey his sense of their exalted merits ; almost exclusively com- 
posed of Individuals who had been nursed in the lap of ease, they have, for twelve 
months, borne the hardships and privations of military life in the midst of an inhospita- 
ble wilderness, with a cheerfulness and alacrity which has never been surpassed. Their 
conduct in the field has been excelled by no other corps ; and while in camp, they have 
set an example of subordination and respect for military authority to the whole army. 
The General requests Capt. M'Rae, his subalterns, non-commissioned officers, and 
privates, to accept his warmest thanks, and bids them an affectionate farewell. 

By command, ROBERT BUTLER, 

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General 
Herewith is a list of this corps : the italicised letters attached to their names signify 

* Two balls struck the house, one of which being spent, lodged in the front wall of 
the house ; the other passed through the house, and killed a negro woman (old Molly) 
who was standing by the kitchen door, in the act of reviling the American troops. 

t On the approach of the enemy. Old Tom, a house servant, was provident enough to 
burj certain silver plate, money, &.c., in the cellar ; there is also a vague rumor of an 
earthenware tea-pot, full of gold. While Arnold was down in the cellar, he was not 
aware that he was in such desirable company. There is still in preservation in the 
town, a set of China-ware, which was interred at this time. 

t In his travels in the interior of North America. 



246 



DINWIDDIE COUNTY. 



as follows : k. killed at Fort Meigs ; w. wounded at Fort Meigs ; d. died ; p. promoted ; 
and p. a. promoted in the army. 



Captain : 
Richard M'llae. 

Lieutenants : 
William Tisdale, 1st. 
Henry Gary, 2d. d. 



Ensign : 
Shirley Tisdale, p. 

Sergeants : 
James Stevens, d. 
Robert B. Cook. p. 
Samuel Stevens, w. 
John Henderson, p. a. 



Corporals : 
N'bn. B. Spotswood, p 
John Perry, d. 
Joseph Scott, v>. 
Thomas G. Scott, w. 
Joseph C. Noble, 
G. T. Clough, k. 



Musicians : — Daniel Eshon, w. ; James Jackson, w. 



Privates : 



Andrew Andrews, d. 
Richard Adams, 
John Bignall, 
Edward Branch, 77. 
Richard H. Branch, 
Thos. B. Bigger, p. a. 
Robert Blick, w. 
George Burge, 
William Burton, 
Daniel Booker, 
Richard Booker, p. a. 
George Booker, k. 
Joseph R. Bentley, 
John W. Bentley, 
Edmund Brown, w. 
Thomas Clarke, 
Reuben Clements, 
Moses Clements, 
Jas. G. Chalmers, p. 
Edward Cheniworth, d. 
James Cabiness, 
Edward H. Cogbill, 



Samuel Cooper, w. 
James Cureton, d. 
William R. Chives, w. 
George Craddock, 
Laven Dunton, 
Wm. B. Degraffenreidt, 
George P. Digges, 
Grieve Drummond, w. 
A. O. Eggleston, p. a. 
James Farrar, p. 
John Frank, 
Edmund Gee, d. 
James Gary, 
Frederick Gary, 
George Grundy, 
George W. Grymes, 
Leroy Graves, 
Edmiind M. Giles, p. a. 
William Harrison, 
Nathaniel Harrison, 
Jacob Humbert, 
John C. Hill, 



James Jeffers, 
William Lacey, d. 
Herbert C. Lofton, w. 
Benjamin Lawson, 
Alfred Lorain, 
William Lanier, d. 
William R. Leigh, w, 
David Mann, 
Nich. Massenburg, k. 
Anthony Mullen, 
Benjamin Middleton, 
Roger Mallory, 
Joseph Mason, w. 
Edwd. Mumford, p. a. 
Samuel Miles, d. 
James Pace, 
James Peterson, 
Richard Pool, 
Benjamin Pegram, 
Thomas W. Perry, aj. 
John Potter, p. a. 
John Rawlings, 



Wm. P. Rawlings, d. 
Evans Rawlings, 
George Richards, 
Geo. P. Raybourne, d. 
John Shore, k. 
John Shelton, 
Richard Sharp, 
John H. Smith, 
John Spratt, 
Robert Stevens, 
Edward Stith, vj. 
Thomas Scott, w. 
John H. Saunders, 
Daniel Worsham, 
Charles Wynne, 
Nath. H.Wills, Kj. 
Thomas Worsham, 
Samuel Williams, k 
James Williams, 
John F. Wiley, 
David Williams. 



A pleasant anecdote is related of the volunteers in a late num- 
ber of the Pioneer,* as having occurred at Point Pleasant, while 
they were passing through that place to the frontier. The author 
of the story was then on his way from western New York, with 
his family, bound for Cincinnati. After he had been there about 
a week, the volunteers arrived. The anecdote we give in his own 
words : 

Being unable to pass the Ohio on account of the running of the ice, they encamped 
near the village, and remained about two weeks, during which time the writer had an 
opportunity of learning their character, which soon became of great service to him. 
Soon as the ice permitted, they struck their tents and began to cross the river, rejoicing 
in the prospect of soon reaching the post of danger. Some five or six of these soldiers, 
impatient of delay, were about to take a skiff which belonged to the writer, who was 
then young, inexperienced, and of such very fiery temperament as not to be very pas- 
sive when his rights were invaded, and therefore began rather abruptly, perhaps, to re- 
monstrate with them ; and on their persisting in taking the skiff, high words ensued, in 
which he called them a set of scoundrels. The words were scarcely uttered, when he 
was surrounded by half the company, all of whom seemed to feel that the'indignity was 
offered to the whole company. As more and more still gathered around him, they said : 
' We have a right to use any means in our power to get on where our country calls us. 
We bear the character of gentlemen at home : you have called us scoundrels ; this you 
must retract, and make us an apology, or we will tear you in pieces.' Thinking I 
knew their character, I instantly resolved on the course to be pursued, as the only 
means of saving myself from the threatened vengeance of men exasperated to the 
highest pitch of excitement. Assuming an apparent courage, which I confess I did not 
feel as strongly as I strove to evince, I turned slowly round upon my heels, looking them 

* The American Pioneer is a monthly periodical, now published at Cincinnati, by 
John S. Williams. It is devoted to collecting and publishing incidents relative to the 
early settlement and successive improvement of the country. Its materiel is furnished 
by numerous correspondents, interested in historical researches. We take pleasure in 
directing public attention to this excellent work. 



DINWIDDIE COUNTY. 



247 



full in the face, with all the composure I could command, without uttering a word. By 
this time several of the citizens were standing on the outside of the crowd that surrounded 
me. The volunteers, not knowing I was a stranger there, thought I had turned round 
in search of succor from the citizens, and with a view of making my escape — said to me, 
' You need not look for a pjace of escape ; if all the people of the county were your 
friends, they could not liberate you — nothing but an apology can save you.' The citi- 
zens were silent witnesses of the dilemma in which the Yankee, as they called me, was 
involved. I rephed, ' I\m not looking for a place of escape— I am looking on men 
who say they have volunteered to fight their country's battles — who say they are gen- 




The Blandford Church. 

tlemen at home — who doubtless left Petersburg, resolved, if they ever returned, to do so 
with laurels of victory round their brows. And now, I suppose, their first great victory 
is to be achieved before they leave the shores of their native state, by sixty or seventy of 
them tearing one man to pieces. Think, gentlemen, if indeed you are gentlemen, how 
your fame will be blazoned in the public prints — think of the immortality of such a vic- 
tory ! You can tear me in pieces ; and, like cannibals, eat me, when you have done. I 
am entirely in your power ; but there is one thing I cannot do. You are soldiers, so am 
I a soldier ; you ask terms of me no soldier can accept ; you cannot, with a threat over 
my head, extort an apology from me ; therefore, I have only to say, the greatest scoun- 
drel among you, strike the first blow! I make no concession.' The result was more 
favorable than I had anticipated. I had expected to have a contest with some one of 
them, for I believed the course I had taken would procure me friends enough from among 
themselves, to see me have, what is called ' fair play' in a fisticuff battle. But I had 
effected more. I had made an appeal to the pride, the bravery, and the noble generosi- 
ty of Virginians — too brave to triumph over an enemy in their power — too generous to 
permit it to be done by any of their number. A simultaneous exclamation was heard all 
around me, ' He is a soldier ; let him alone' — and in a moment they dispersed." 

Blandford is said to be older than Petersburg. It was formerly 
superior in architecture and fashion, and might properly have been 
called " the court end" of the town ; but her glory has departed, 
and her sister settlement, Petersburg, has absorbed her vitality. 
Its old church, 

" Lone relic of the past ! old mouldering pile, 
Where twines the ivy round its ruins gray," 

is one of the most interesting and picturesque ruins in the country. 
Its form is similar to that of the letter T with a short column. Its 



248 ELIZABETH CITY COUNTY. 

site is elevated, overlooking the adjacent town, the river, and a 
landscape of beauty. 

Within the limits of Petersburg, " on the north bank of the Appomattox, within a few 
feet of the margin of the river, is a large, dark-gray stone, of a conical form, about five 
feet in height, and somewhat more in diameter. On the side which looks to the east, 
three feet above the ground, there is an oval excavation about twelve inches across, and 
half as many in depth. The stone is solitary, and lifts itself conspicuously above the 
level of the earth. It is called the Basin of Pocahontas, and except in very dry weather, 
is seldom without water." 

John Burk, a lawyer, was a native of Ireland, and settled in Petersburg, where he 
wrote and published, in 1804, three volumes on the history of Virginia, bringing it down 
to the commencement of the American revolution. While here, he wrote plays for an 
histrionic society in the town, and on the boards of its amateur theatre, acted parts in 
them. His work on the state he did not live to complete. At a public table Burk used 
some expressions derogatory to the French nation. A French gentleman accidentally 
present, named Coburg, a stranger in the country, offended by the remarks, challenged 
him. They fought at Fleet's Hill, on the opposite bank of the Appomattox, and Burk 
was killed. The 4th and remaining volume, published in 1816, was written by Skelton 
Jones and Louis Hue Girardin, the latter of whom was a Frenchman, and, it is stated, 
wrote under the supervision of Jefferson at Monticello, who, familiar with the era to 
which it related, imparted valuable information. 

Gen. Wjnfield Scott, the present commander-in-chief of the U. S. Army, was born 
near Petersburg, June 13th, 1785. As an officer and a soldier his name stands con- 
spicuous in the annals of our country. 



ELIZABETH CITY. 

Elizabeth City was one of the eight original shires into which 
Virginia was divided in 1634. Its form is nearly a square of 18 
miles on a side. The land is generally fertile ; and that portion 
known as " the back river district," comprising about one-third of 
its area, is remarkably rich. There were in 1840, whites 1,954, 
slaves 1,708, free colored 44 ; total 3,706. 

Hampton, the county-seat, is 96 miles se. of Richmond. It is on 
Hampton Roads, 18 miles from Norfolk, 24 from Yorktown, 36 
from Williamsburg. Hampton is the residence of many of the 
pilots of James River. It contains 2 Methodist, 1 Baptist church, 
and one Episcopalian church. The Methodist society was estab- 
lished in 1789, and the Baptist in 1791. It has 18 stores and shops, 
and a population of about 1200. 

Hampton is an old town, and one of historic interest. Its site 
was visited by Capt. John Smith in 1607, on his first exploratory 
voyage up the Potomac, previous to the settlement of Jamestown. 
Burk says, "While engaged in seeking a fit place for the first 
settlement, they met five of the natives, who invited them to their 
town, Kecovghtan or Kichotan, where Hampton now stands. Here 
they were feasted with cakes made of Indian corn, and ' regaled 
with tobacco and a dance.' In return, they presented the natives 
beads and other trinkets." Hampton was established a town by 
law in 1705, the same year with Norfolk. The locality was set- 
tled in 1610, from Jamestown.* The Episcopal church is the old- 

* Jones' " Present State of Virginia." 



ELIZABETH CITY COUNTY. 249 

est public building in the town, and is said to be the third oldest 
church in the state. The oldest inscription in the grave-yard at- 
tached to this venerable edifice, is that of Capt. Willis Wilson, 
who died Nov. 19th, 1701. Among the public men vv^ho lie buried 
there is Dr. George Balfour, w^ho died at Norfolk, in 1830. 
He was a member of the medical staff in the U. S. Army ; and 
" braved the perils of the west under the gallant Wayne, who, at 
a subsequent period, on Presque Isle, breathed his last in his arms. 
In 1798, on the organization of the Navy, he was appointed its 
senior surgeon, and performed the responsible duties of that office 
until 1804, when he retired to private practice in Norfolk." Major 
James M. Glassell, who died Nov. 3, 1838, and Lieut. James D. 
Burnham, who died March 6, 1828, both of whom were of the U. 
S. Army, are interred there. Tradition says, that anciently, the 
king's coat-of-arms was placed upon the steeple ; but that in 
1776, shortly after the Declaration of Independence, the steeple 
was rent lengthwise by lightning, and the insignia of royalty hurl- 
ed to the earth. 

On the Pembroke farm, near Hampton, are four ancient monu- 
ments of black marble. Each is 6 feet long and 3 wide, and sur- 
mounted with a coat-of-arms. Annexed are the inscriptions : 

Here lies ye body of John Nevill, Esq., Vice Admiral of His Majesty's fleet and com- 
mander-in-chiefe of ye squadron cruising in ye West Indies, who dyed on board ye 
Cambridge, ye 17 day of August, 1697, in the ninth yeare of the reign of King William 
ye third, aged 57 years. 

In hopes of a blessed resurrection, here lies ye body of Thomas Curie, gent., who 
was born Nov. 24, 1641, in ye parish of Saint Michael, in Lewis, in ye county of Surry, 
in England, and dyed May 30, 1700. 

When a few years are come then shall I go ye way whence I shall not return. — Job, 
16 ch. 22 V. 

Here lyeth ye body of ye Reverend Mr. Andrew Thompson, who was bom at Stone- 
hive in Scotland, and was minister of this parish 7 yeares, and departed this life ye 11 
Sep. 1719, in ye 46 yeare of his age, leaving ye character of a sober and religious man. 

This stone was given by His Excellency Francis Nicholson, Esq , Lieutenant and 
Governor.General of Virginia, in memory of Peter Heyman, Esq., grandson to Sir Peter 
Heyman of Summerfield in ye county of Kent — he was collector of ye customs in ye 
lower district of James River, and went voluntarily on board ye king's ship Shore- 
ham, in pursuit of a pyrate who greatly infested this coast — after he had behaved him- 
self 7 hours with undaunted courage, was killed with a small shot, ye 29 day of April, 
1700. In the engagement he stood next the governor upon the quarter deck, and was 
here honorably interred by his order. 

Hampton was attacked by the British in the war of the revolu- 
tion, and also invaded by them in the late war. 

The first was in Oct. 1775, and was, says Burk, dictated by revenge on the part of 
Lord Dunmore, for two schooners which had been burnt by two enterprising young men 
of the name of Barron. These men, afterwards distinguished for their courage and 
success in maritime adventure against the British, commanded, at this time, two pilot 
boats — a species of vessel constructed chiefly with an attention to sailing — and kept the 
fleet of Dunmore constantly on the alert by the rapidity of their movements. If pur- 
sued, by keeping close in with the shore, they took refuge in Hampton. The people of 
the town, fearing an attack, had applied to the committee of safety for assistance, who 
sent down " Col. Woodford, with 100 mounted riflemen of the Culpeper battalion, with- 
out any other incumbrance than their provisions and blankets; But before the arrival 

32 



250 ELIZABETH CITY COUNTY. 

of Woodford, captain Squires, with six tenders full of men, appeared in Hampton creek, 
and commenced an attack on the town. He imagined that the mere display of his 
squadron would have paralyzed the courage of the new-raised troops, and that no resist- 
ance would have been attempted. Under this impression, the boats, under cover of a 
fierce cannonade, rowed towards the shore for the purpose of setting fire to the houses, 
and carrying off whatever property should be spared from the conflagration. A few 
moments disclosed the vanity of these expectations. A shower of bullets soon compelled 
the boats to return to the ships, while the riflemen, disposed in the houses and the bushes 
along the beach, proved that even the tenders were not secure against their fatal preci- 
sion. Checked by a resistance so fierce and unexpected, the tenders hauled further into 
the stream, and further operations were suspended until a reinforcement, which was 
hourly expected, would render an assault more certain and decisive. 

«' Meanwhile Woodford, who had used the most extraordinary expedition, arrived at 
daybreak with his riflemen, and as it was certainly known that the enemy would renew 
the attack, a new disposition was made of the American troops. The enemy's fleet had 
spread themselves with the view of dividing the force of the Americans ; and though it 
was intended perhaps only as a diversion, it was not improbable that an attempt would 
be made to land troops at a considerable distance in the rear of the Americans. To 
guard against this, Woodford disposed the minute-men, with a part of the militia, in his 
rear ; the remainder of the militia was distributed at different points on the creek, to act 
as parties of observation, according to circumstances, while he himself took post with 
the riflemen in the houses, and every other low and covered position that presented itself 
on the beach. 

" At sunrise the e?iemy's fleet was seen standing in for the shore, and having at length 
reached a convenient position, they lay with springs on their cables, and commenced a 
furious cannonade. Double-headed and chain shot, and grape, flew in showers through 
all parts of the town ; and as the position of the ships enabled them to enfilade, it was 
thought impossible to defend it, even for a few minutes. Nothing could exceed the cool 
and steady valor of the Virginians ; and although, with very few exceptions, wholly 
unacquainted with military service, they displayed the countenance and collection of 
veterans. Woodford's commands to his riflemen, previous to the cannonade, were sim- 
ply to fire with coolness and decision, and observe the profoundest silence. The effects 
of this advice were soon visible ; the riflemen answered the cannonade by a well-directed 
fire against every part of the line, and it soon appeared that no part of the ship was 
secure against their astonishing precision. In a short time the enemy appeared to be in 
some confusion ; their cannonade gradually slackened, and a signal was given by the 
commander to slip their cables and retire. But even this was attended with the most 
imminent danger. No man could stand at the helm in safety ; if the men went aloft to 
hand the sails, they were immediately singled out. In this condition two of the schooners 
drifted to the shore. The commander of one of these in vain called on his men to assist 
in keeping her off"; they had all retired to the hold, and declared their utter refusal to 
expose themselves to inevitable destruction. In this exigency, deserted by his men, he 
jumped into the water and escaped to the opposite shore. The rest of the fleet had 
been fortunate enough to escape, although with some difficulty, and returned to Norfolk."* 

After the British fleet were defeated in their attempt upon Nor- 
folk, in June, 1813, by the gallant defence of Craney Island, they 
proceeded to attack Hampton, which was defended by a garrison 
of 450 militia, protected by some slight fortifications. The annexed 
account of this event is from Perkins' History of the Late War ; 

Admiral Cockburn, on the 25th of June, with his forces, advanced towards the town 
in barges and small vessels, throwing shells and rockets, while Sir Sidney Beckwith 
effected a landing below with two thousand men. Cockburn's party were repulsed by 
the garrison, and driven back behind a point, until General Beckwith's troops advanced 
and compelled the garrison to retire. The town being now completely in the possession 
of the British, was given up to pillage. Many of the inhabitants had fled with their 
valuable effects ; those who remained suffered the most shameful barbarities. That 
renegado corps, composed of French prisoners accustomed to plunder and murder in 
Spain, and who had been induced to enter the British service by promises of similar 
indulgence in America, were now to be gratified, and were let loose upon the wretched 
inhabitants of Hampton without restraint. For two days the town was given up to 

* The inhabitants had sunk five sloops before (he town. 



ELIZABETH CITY COtTNTy. 251 

unrestrained pillage ; private property was plundered and wantonly destroyed ; unarmed 
and unoffending individuals grossly abused ; females violated ; and, in one instance, an 
aged sick man murdered in the arms of his wife, who, at the same time, was danger- 
ously wounded. A collection of well-attested facts, made by a committee of Congress 
respecting the outrages at Hampton, stand on their journals as lasting monuments of 
disgrace to the British nation. 

Hampton has been the birth-place of several distinguished naval 
officers. Among them were the tw^o Barrons,* of the Virginia 
navy, who performed several gallant exploits in the revolution. 
The grandfather of Com. Lewis Warrington, who, in 1814, while 
in command of the Peacock, captured the Epervier, was pastor of 
the old Episcopal church in this town. Major Finn, of the army, 
was from this place. Capt. Meredith and Capt. William Cunning- 
ham, of the Virginia navy in the revolution, were also born at 
Hampton. The first was a remarkably bold and enterprising offi- 
cer, and on one moonlight night ventured to sail out to sea in a 
small vessel, passing through a British fleet anchored in Hampton 
Roads. The following notice of the latter is abridged from the U. 
S. Military and Naval Magazine : 

At the beginning of the war of the revolution, Capt. Cunningham enlisted in one of 
the minute companies, and continued in that service until Virginia armed a few fast- 
sailing pilot-boat schooners. Thus was the navy of that state commenced. It, however, 
varied materially ; sometimes amounting to as many as 50 vessels, and occasionally to 
only one. Among them was the schooner Liberty, which was never captured, although 
several times sunk in the rivers to conceal her from the enemy. Capt. Cunningham 
embarked and remained in the Liberty, as her first lieutenant, until the war assumed a 
more regular form. Capt. Cunningham purchased a small schooner, and engaged in 
traffic to the West Indies. Sea-officers were encouraged to engage in commerce as the 
only means of procuring the munitions of war. 

On these occasions, he encountered great risk from the enemy's fleets. Once, in the 
month of June, he suddenly came upon an English frigate, off Cape Henry, in a dense 
fog. The English commander ordered him to strike his colors, and haul down his light 
sails, or he would sink him. By a judicious and skilful stratagem, he made the enemy 
believe that he intended to surrender. He, therefore, suspended his threatened firing. At 
the moment they discovered that Cunningham intended to escape, the jib-boom of the 
frigate caught in the topping-Hft of the schooner's main-boom. Capt. C. sprang up to 
the stern, with a knife, to free his vessel. While in the act of cutting the rope, a 
British marine shot him through the arm. Nothing daunted, he deliberately effected his 
object, and amid a shower of grape, his vessel shot away from the frigate, and was in a 
few moments out of sight. 

Some time after, Capt. Cunningham joined the army on the south side of James 
River, and had the misfortune, while on a foraging expedition, to be taken by the enemy 
and carried into Portsmouth. He had then been recently married. 

One day he said to an uncle of his, (also a prisoner,) that he would see his wife the 
next evening, or perish in the attempt. " My dear Will, are you mad ?" was the reply. 

The prison in which he was confined was a large sugar-house, at the extreme south end 
of the town, enclosed by a strong stockade fence. At sunset every evening, the guard, 
composed of 40 or 50 men, were relieved by fresh troops, and on their arrival, the two 
guards, with their officers, were paraded in front of the prison, on each side of the path- 
way to the gate. At this hour, the ceremony observed on the occasion was in progress ; 
the relieved guard had stacked their arms, and were looking up their baggage ; the fresh 
guard were relieving sentinels, and, in a degree, at their ease. This was the time selected 
by Capt. C. The sentinel had just begun to pace his sacred ground, and awful, indeed, 
was the moment. Capt. C. was justly a great favorite with the prisoners, who all, in 
Bilent terror, expected to see their beloved companion pinned to the earth by many bay- 
onets, for expostulation had been exhausted. " My wife, or death .'" was his watchword 

The sentinel's motions had been sagaciously calculated upon, and as he turned fronj 



• One of these was the father of the present Com. Jumes Barron, of the U. S. Nav^y. 



252 ELIZABETH CITY COUNTY. 

the prison, Capt. C. darted out, and butted him over at his full length, and ran past him 
tlirough the gate. It was now nearly dark. All was uproar and confusion. Cunning- 
ham soon reached a marsh near the house, and was nowhere to be found. Volley after 
volley was fired after him, and some of the balls whistled over his head. Ere long he 
arrived at the southern branch of Elizabeth River, which he swam over a little below 
the navy-yard at Gosport, and finally reached the place whither his wife had fled. 

Lieut. Church, who had served as Capt. C.'s first, was determined that his commander 
should not alone encounter the danger of an escape. He, therefore, followed him ; and 
strange as it may appear, he was never heard of, or accounted for. 

Old Point Comfort, on which stands fortress Monroe, is 2| miles 
from Hampton, and about 12 in a direct line from Norfolk. It is a 
promontory, exactly on iat. 37^, and with the opposing point, Wil- 
loughby, forms the mouth of James River. 

The name was given to it in 1607 by the first colonists of Virginia, who, on their 
exploratory voyage up the James, previous to landing at Jamestown, called it Point 
Comfort " on account of the good channel and safe anchorage it afforded." The prefix 
of " Old," was afterwards given to distinguish it from " New Point Comfort." 

A fort was built on the Point a few years after the first settlement of the country. 
The following act for its erection was passed in March, 1629-30. " Matter of ffortifica- 
tions was againe taken into consideration, and Capt. Samuel Mathewes was content to 
undertake the ray.sing of a ffort at Poynt Comfort ; whereupon, Capt. Robert Ffelgate, 
Capt. Thomas Purfury, Capt. Thomas Graies, Capt. John Uty, Capt. Tho. Willoby, Mr. 
Tho. Heyrick, and Leu't. Wm. Perry, by full consent of the whole Assembly, were chosen 
to view the place, conclude what manner of fforte shall bee erected, and to compounde 
and agree with the said Capt. Mathewes for the building, raysing, and finishing the 
same," &c. 

Count de Grasse, the admiral of the French fleet, threw up some fortifications on old 
Point Comfort a short time previous to the surrender at York. 

The salutary experience, dearly bought in the lessons of the late war, when these waters 
were the resort of British fleets, has doubtless had much influence in prompting the erection 
of the fortresses of Monroe and Calhoun. The first is one of the largest single fortifica- 
tions in the world, and is generally garrisoned by. a regiment of U. S. troops. The 
channel leading in from the Capes of Virginia to Hampton Roads, is at Old Point Com- 
fort reduced to a very narrow line. The shoal water, which under the action of the 
sea, and reacted upon by the bar, is kept up in an unremitting ripple, has given the 
name of Rip Raps to this place. When the bar is passed, Hampton Roads affords 
one of the finest anchorages, in which navies could ride in safety. Fort Calhoun, or 
the castle of the Rip Raps, is directly opposite fort Monroe, at the distance of 1900 
yards. The two forts are so constructed as to present immense batteries of cannon at 
an approaching hostile ship ; and the probabilities are, that long before she had com- 
pleted the bendings of the channel, she would be a wreck, or a conflagration from the 
hot shot thrown into her. The Rip Raps structure is a monument of the genius of the 
engineers by whom it was planned. It is formed upon an island, made from the sea 
by casting in rocks in a depth of 20 feet of water, until, by gradual accumulation, it 
emerged above the tides. The present aspect of the place is rough and savage ; the 
music of the surrounding elements of air and sea, is in keeping with the dreariness and 
desolation of the spot. 

The beach at Old Point, affords excellent bathing-ground ; this, with a fine hotel, and 
other attractions, make the place much resorted to in the summer months. The ofiicers' 
quarters occupy several neat buildings within the area of the fort, where there is a fine 
level parade-ground, ornamented by clumps of live-oak, which is the most northern 
point in the Union in which that tree is found. 

George Wythe, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, 
was born in this county in 1726. " His education was principally 
directed by his mother. The death of both his parents before 
he became of age, and the uncontrolled possession of a large for- 
tune, led him for some time into a course of amusement and dissi- 
pation. At the age of thirty, however, his conduct underwent an 



ESSEX COUNTY. 253 

entire change. He applied himself vigorously to the study of the 
law ; and soon after his admission to the bar, his learning, indus- 
try, and eloquence, made him eminent. For several years previous 
to the revolution, he was conspicuous in the House of Burgesses ; 
and in the commencement of the opposition to England, evinced 
an ardent attachment to liberty. In 1764, he drew up a remon- 
strance to the House of Commons, in a tone of independence too 
decided for that period, and which was greatly modified by the 
Assembly before assenting to it. In 1775, he was appointed a 
delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. In the fol- 
lowing year he was appointed, in connection with Mr. Jefferson 
and others, to revise the laws of Virginia — a duty which was per- 
formed with great ability. In 1777, he was appointed Speaker of 
the House of Delegates, and during the same year judge of the 
high court of chancery. On a new organization of the court of 
equity, in the subsequent year, he was appointed sole chancellor — 
a station which he filled for more than twenty years. In 1787, he 
was a member of the convention which formed the federal con- 
stitution, and during the debates acted, for the most part, as chair- 
man. He was a strenuous advocate of the instrument adopted. 
He subsequently presided twice, successively, in the college of 
electors in Virginia. His death occurred on the 8th of June, 1806, 
in the 81st year of his age. It was supposed that he was poisoned ; 
but the person suspected was acquitted by a jury. In learning, 
industry, and judgment, Chancellor Wythe had few superiors. His 
integrity was never stained, even by a suspicion ; and from the 
moment of his abandonment of the follies of his youth, his repu- 
tation was unspotted. The kindness and benevolence of his heart 
were commensurate with the strength and attainments of his 
mind." 



ESSEX. 



Essex was formed in 1692, from a part of (old) Rappahannock 
county. It lies on the s. side of the Rappahannock, about 30 miles 
NE. of Richmond. Its length is 28 miles ; mean breadth 10 miles. 
In the western part it is slightly hilly, and its soil, except on the 
margin of the streams, generally sandy. The county, however, 
produces large crops of corn, considerable wheat and oats, and 
some cotton and tobacco. Pop. in 1840, whites 3,955, slaves 6,756, 
free colored 598 ; total, 11,309. 

Tappahannoc, port of entry and seat of justice for the county, 
lies on the Rappahannock, 50 miles from its mouth in Chesapeake 
Bay, and contains about 30 dwellings. It has a good harbor, and 
all the shipping belonging to the towns on the river is entered at 
the custom-house in this place; tonnage in 1840, 4,591. Lo- 
retto is a small village one mile from the Rappahannock, in the 
NE. part of the county. 



254 FAIRFAX COUNTY. 



FAIRFAX. 



Fairfax was formed in 1742, from Prince William, and named 
after Lord Fairfax, the proprietor of " the Northern Neck." The 
part of Virginia included in the District of Columbia was formed 
from Fairfax. The county is watered by the Potomac and the 
Occoquan, and their branches. Pop., whites 5,469, slaves 3,453, 
free colored 448 ; total, 9,370, 

Fairfax Court House is near the centre of the county, 21 miles 
from Washington City ; it contains the county buildings, and about 
200 inhabitants. Centerville is a village of about the same popu- 
lation, on a high and healthy situation near the southwestern angle 
of the county. , , 

Much of the land of this county, and, indeed, of the whole of 
the tide- water country of Virginia, is flat and sandy. Some parts, 
it is true, are very fertile and produce large crops ; but these are 
so intermixed with extensive tracts of waste land, worn out by the 
excessive culture of tobacco, and which are almost destitute of 
verdure, that the country has frequently the aspect of barrenness. 
A ruinous system has prevailed to a great extent, of working the 
same piece of land year after year until it was exhausted, when 
new land was cleared, in its turn to be cultivated a few seasons 
and then abandoned. In some parts of the country the lands thus 
left waste throw up a spontaneous growth of low pines and cedars, 
whose sombre aspect, with the sterility of the soil, oppresses the 
traveller with feelings of gloom. However, land thus shaded 
from the rays of the sun, recovers in time its former fertility. 

Several years since, some of the enterprising farmers' of German 
origin from Dutchess county. New York, commenced emigrating 
to this county and purchased considerable tracts of worn-out land, 
which they have, in many instances, succeeded in restoring to their 
original fertility. Good land can be bought for $8 or $10 per acre ; 
tolerable fair for about $3; which, in a few years, can be brought 
up with clover and plaster. Some of the finest farms in New York 
are upon lands, which, a few years ago, were sand, blowing about 
in the wind. The worn-out Virginian lands are not so bad as this, 
and, with a fine climate, are as easily restored. The success thus 
far attending the experiment is encouraging, and emigration still 
continues. These farmers make this movement better than going 
west, for they are sure of a good market, without the whole value 
of their produce being exhausted by the expense of transportation. 
Slave-labor is not employed in resuscitating land; the farmers 
work themselves, with their sons and hired men. 



The following extracts are from Davis's Four and a Half Years 
in America, published in 1803. Davis was a school-teacher in the 
section of country which he describes. His work is dedicated, by 
permission, to Jefferson : — 



FAIRFAX COUNTY. 255 

I prosecuted my walk to Newgate, where, on the piazza of Mr. Thornton's tavern, I 
found a party of gentlemen from the neighboring plantations carousing over a bowl of 
toddy, and smoking cigars. No people could exceed these men in politeness. On my 
ascending the steps to the piazza, every countenance seemed to say. This man has a 
double claim to our attention, for he is a stranger in the place. In a moment there was 
room made for me to sit down ; a new bowl was called for, and every one who addressed 
me did it with a smile of conciliation. But no man asked me where I had come from, 
or whither I was going. A gentleman in every country is the same ; and, if good breed- 
ing consists in sentiment, it was found in the circle I had got into. 

The higher Virginians seem to venerate themselves as men ; and I am persuaded there 
was not one in company who would have felt embarrassed at being admitted to the pres- 
ence and conversation of the greatest monarch on earth. There is a compound of vir- 
tue and vice in every human character ; no man was ever yet faultless ; but whatever 
may be advanced against Virginians, their good qualities will ever outweigh their de- 
fects ; and when the effervescence of youth has abated, when reason asserts her em- 
pire, there is no man on earth who discovers more exalted sentiments, more contempt of 
baseness, more love of justice, more sensibility of feeling, than a Virginian. 

No walk could be more delightful than that from Occoquan to Colchester, when the 
moon was above the mountains. You traverse the bank of a placid stream, over which 
impend rocks, in some places bare, but more frequently covered with an odoriferous 
plant that regales the traveller with its fragrance. So serpentine is the course of the 
river, that the mountains which rise from its bank may be said to form an amphitheatre ; 
and nature seems to have designed the spot for the haunt only of fairies, for here grow 
flowers of purple dye, and here the snake throws her enamelled skin. But into what 
regions, however apparently inaccessible, has not adventurous man penetrated ? The 
awful repose of the night is disturbed by the clack of two huge mills, which drown the 
echoes of the mocking-bird, who nightly tells his sorrows to the listening moon. 2- 

Art is pouring fast into the lap of nature the luxuries of exotic refinement. After 
clambering over mountains, almost inaccessible to human toil, you come to the junction 
of the Occoquan with the noble river of the Potomac, and behold a bridge, whose semi, 
elliptical arches are scarcely inferior to those of princely London. And on the side of 
this bridge stands a tavern, where every luxury that money can purchase is to be ob- 
tained at first summons ; where the richest viands cover the table, and where ice cools 
the Madeira that has been thrice across the ocean. * * * Having slept one night 
at this tavern, I rose with the sun and journeyed leisurely to the mills, catching refresh- 
ment from a light air that stirred the leaves of the trees. About eight miles from the 
Occoquan mills is a house of worship, called Powheek church ; a name it claims from 
a run that flows near its walls. Hither I rode on Sundays and joined the congregation 
of parson Weems, a minister of the Episcopal persuasion, who was cheerful in his mien, 
that lie might win men to religion. A Virginian church-yard, on a Sunday, resembles 
rather a race-course than a sepulchral ground ; the ladies come to it in carriages, and the 
men after dismounting from their horses make them fast to the trees. But the steeples 
to the Virginian churches were designed not for utility but ornament ; for the bell is 
always suspended to a tree a few yards from the church. It is also observable, that the 
gate to the church-yard is ever carefully locked by the sexton, who retires last. * * * 
Wonder and ignorance are ever reciprocal. I was confounded, on first entering the 
church-yard at Powheek, to hear 

Steed threaten steed with high and boastful neigh. 

Nor was I less stunned with the rattling of carriage-wheels, the cracking of whips, and 
the vociferations of the gentlemen to the negroes who accompanied them. But the dis- 
course of parson Weems calmed every perturbation ; for he preached the great doc- 
trines of salvation, as one who had experienced their power. * « * In his youth 
Mr. Weems accompanied some young Americans to London, where he prepared him- 
self by diligent study for the profession of the church. * * * Of the congregation 
at Powheek church, about one half was composed of white people, and the other of ne- 
groes. Among many of the negroes were to be discovered the most satisfying evi- 
dences of sincere piety, an artless simplicity, passionate aspirations after Christ, and an 
earnest endeavor to know and do the will of God. ■ ■«-.£* 

The church described in the foregoing sketch is still standing 
and an object of interest from having been the one Washington 
regularly attended for a long series of years while resident at 



256 FAIRFAX COUNTY. 

Mount Vernon, distant some 6 or 7 miles. The particular location 
of the church is ascribed to him. At a very early age he was an 
active member of the vestry ; and when its location was under 
consideration and dispute, surveyed and made a map of the whole 
parish, and showed where it ought to be erected. The Rt. Rev. 
Wm. Meade, Bishop of Va., in an official tour taken three or four 
years since, thus describes its appearance as it was at that time ; 
since vi'^hich it has been repaired : 

My next visit was to Pohick church, in the vicinity of Mount Vernon, the seat of 
Gen. Washington. I designed to perform service there on Saturday as well as Sunday, 
but through some mistake no notice was given for the former day. Tlie weather, in- 
deed, was such as to prevent the assembhng of any but those who prize such occasions 
so much as to be deterred only by very strong considerations. It was still raining when 
I approached the house, and found no one there. The wide opened doors invited me to 
enter, as they do invite, day and night through the year, not only the passing traveller, 
but every beast of the field andfovvl of the air. These latter, however, seemed to have 
reverenced the house of God, since few marks of their pollution are to be seen through- 
out it. The interior of the house, having been well built, is still good. The chancel, 
communion-table, tables of the Jaw, etc., are still there and in good order. The roof 
only is decayed ; and at the time I was there, the rain was dropping on these sacred 
places, and on other parts of the house. On the doors of the pews, in gilt letters, are 
still to be seen the names of the principal families which once occupied them. How 
could I, while for an hour traversing .those long aisles, entering the sacred chancel, as. 
cending the lofty pulpit, forbear to ask : And is this the house of God which was built 
by the Washingtons, the Masons, the McCarties, the Grahams, the Lewises, the Fair- 
faxes — the house in which they used to worship the God of our fathers according to the 
venerable forms of the Episcopal Church, and some of whose names are yet to be found 
on those deserted pews ? Is this, also, destined to moulder piecemeal away — or, when 
some signal is given, to become the prey of spoilers, and to be carried hither and thither, 
and applied to every purpose under heaven ? 

The Rev. M. L. Weems, to whom allusion has been made, was 
the rector of Mount Vernon parish at the time Washington at- 
tended this church. He was the author of a life of Washington, 
and also one of Marion. His memoir of Washington has been a 
very popular work, and has passed through 30 or 40 editions. It 
is a volume extremely fascinating to the youthful mind. " He 
turns all the actions of Washington to the encouragement of vir- 
tue, by a careful application of numerous exemplifications drawn 
from the conduct of the founder of our republic, from his earliest 
life." 

From a clerical friend of the late Mr. Weems, we have gathered these facts respect- 
ing him : The wants of a large family occasioned Mr. Weems to abandon preaching for 
a livelihood, and he became a book-agent for the celebrated Matthew Carey of Phila- 
delphia. He travelled extensively over the southern states, and met with almost unpre- 
cedented success — selling, in one year, 3000 copies of a high-priced Bible. He also sold 
other works, among which were those of his own writing. He was accustomed to be 
present at courts and other large assemblages, where he mingled with the people ; and 
by his faculty of adapting himself to all circumstances, he generally drew crowds of listen- 
ers, whom he would address upon the merits of his works, interspersing his remarks with 
anecdotes and humorous sallies. He wrote and sold a pamphlet entitled " The Drunk, 
ard's Looking -Glass,'" illustrated by cuts, showing the progressive stages of the drunk- 
ard, from his first taking the social glass until the final scene of his death. With this 
in hand he entered taverns, and addressing the inmates, would mimic the extravagances 
of an inebriate, and sell the pamphlet. His eccentricities and singular conduct lowered 
his dignity, and occasioned the circulation of many false and ridiculous tales unbecoming 
his clerical profession. He was a man of much benevolence, and a great wit. When 
travelling, he sometimes received and accepted invitations to preach. His sermons were 



FAIRFAX COUNTY. 257 

generally moral essays, abounding with humor. On one occasion, when at Fredericks- 
burg, he preached from the text, " We are fearfully and wonderfully made,"^which ser- 
mon he abruptly concluded by saying, " I must stop ; for should I go on, some of the 
young ladies present would not sleep a wink to-night." Mr. Weems was of the medium 
stature, his hair white and long, and his countenance expressive and sprightly. He was 
energetic in his movements, and polite. He proved useful in his vocation, being careful 
not to circulate any works but those of a good moral tendency. He died at an advanced 
age, many years smce, leaving a highly respectable and well-educated family. 




Residence and Tomb of Washington, Mount Vernon. 

An English traveller in this country, about the close of the revo- 
lution, gives the following list of the seats on the Potomac existing 
at that time : 

" On the Virginia side of the Potomac, are the seats of Mr. Alex- 
ander, Gen. Washington, Col. Martin, Col. Fairfax, Mr. Lawson, 
near the mouth of Oquaquon, Col. Mason, Mr. Lee, near the mouth 
of Quantico, Mr. Brent,* Mr. Mercer, Mr. Fitzhugh, Mr. Alexan- 
der, of Boyd Hole and all Chotank, Col. Frank Thornton, on 

* Burnt by the enemy early in the revolutionary war. 

33 



258 FAIRFAX COUNTY. 

Marchodock, Mr. Thacker Washington, Mrs. Blair, Mr. M'Carty, 
Col. Phil. Lee, of Nominey," &c. 

Mount Vernon is on the Potomac, 8 miles from Alexandria, and 
15 from Washington City. The mansion is built of wood, cut in 
imitation of free stone. The central part was built by Lawrence 
Washington, brother to the general ; the wings were added by 
Gen. Washington. It is named after Admiral Vernon, in whose 
expedition Lawrence Washington served. 

The following graphic description of a visit to Mount Vernon, 
from the pen of a New Englander, we extract from a recent num- 
ber of the Boston Daily Advertiser and Patriot : 

I had this morning, for the first time, crossed the Potomac, and was under the full in- 
fluence of the sense that I was in a new land, and amid all the historical associations 
of the " Ancient Dominion." The day was soft and balmy, and, though early in March, 
was as warm as our budding days of May. We were in a portion of the great primeval 
forest of America. The crows cawed from the tops of the ancient, half-decayed trees ; 
and the naked trunks and branches of the sycamore, and the strange spreading forms 
of the other giants of the wood, were beautifully relieved by the evergreen of the pines 
and cedars. A solemn stillness filled the air. An ancient, sad, half-degenerate, but 
most venerable and soul-stirring ciiaracter was impressed upon all around us. 

After a few miles of riding through the forest, with occasional openings and cultivated 
spots, in one of which a negro was following his plough through the furrows, my friend 
pointed out a stone sunk in the ground by the road-side, which, he said, marked the begin- 
ning of the Mount Vernon estate. Still, we rode on for a couple of miles of beautiful 
country, left much in its natural condition, without even a fence to line the road-side, 
with a delightful variety of surface, before the gate and porter's lodge came in sight. 

Instead of an iron gate upon stone posts, there was a simple wooden gate, swinging 
from posts of wood, without paint, turned to a gray color, and shutting with a wooden 
latch. An aged negro came out from the porter's house, courtesied as we passed, and an- 
swered civilly the questions as to her health, and whether her mistress was at home. All 
was characteristic of the domestic institutions of Virginia, even to the woman's stand- 
ing still, and letting the gate swing to and latch itself. We had still half a mile before 
us, and the simple carriage-path led us over hills and down dales, with a surface as di- 
versified as that of Mount Auburn, while the trees were more grand and forest-like, 
though thinly scattered, and with less variety and richness. We crossed a brook, passed 
through a ravine, and felt ourselves so completely in the midst of aboriginal, untouched 
nature, that the sight of the house and its cluster of surrounding buildings, came like a 
surprise upon me. The approach to the house is towards the west front. The high pi- 
azza, reaching from the roof to the ground, and the outline of the building, are familiar 
to us from the engravings ; but its gray and time-worn aspect must be mentioned to those 
whose eyes are accustomed to the freshness of white walls, green blinds, and painted 
bricks. We rode up to the piazza, but an unbroken silence reigned, and there was no 
sign of life, or of any one stirring. Turning away, we passed among the adjoining 
houses, occupied by the blacks, from one of which a servant, attracted by the sound of 
our horses' hoofs, came out, and being recognised by my friend, took our horses from us, 
and we walked towards the house. The door from the piazza opened directly into a large 
room, which we entered. It was no mere habit that hfted the hat from my head, and I 
stepped lightly, as though upon hallowed ground. Finding that no one had seen us, my 
friend went in search of the family, and left me to walk through the halls. From the 
first room I passed into another, from which a door led me out upon the eastern piazza. 
A warm afternoon breeze shook the branches of the forest which closes in upon the 
house on two sides, and breathed across the lawn and rising knolls with a delicious 
softness. Under this piazza, upon its pavement of flat stones, Washington used to 
walk to and fro, with military regularity, every morning, the noble Potomac in full 
view, spreading out into the vvidth of a bay at' the foot of the mount, and the shore 
of Maryland lining the eastern horizon. By the side of the door hung the spy-glass, 
through which he watched the passing objects upon the water. Little effort was ne- 
cessary to call up the commanding figure of the hero, as he paced to and fro, while 
those pure and noble thoughts, which made his actions great, moved with almost an equal 
order through his simple and majestic understanding. 



FAIRFAX COUNTY. 259 

My friend approached and told me he liad learned that the family were at dinner, and 
we left the house privately and walked towards the tomb. At a short distance from the 
house, in a retired spot, stands the new family tomb, a plain structure of brick, with a 
barred iron gate, through which are seen two sarcophagi of white marble, side by side, 
containing the remains of Washington and his consort. This had been recently finished, 
as appeared from the freshness of the bricks and mortar, and the bare spots of earth 
about it, upon which the grass had not yet grown. It is painful to see change and nov- 
elty in such connections ; but all has been done by the direction of Washington's will, in 
which he designated the spot where he wished the tomb to be. The old family tomb, in 
which he was first placed, is in a more picturesque situation, upon a knoll, in full view 
of the river ; but the present one is more retired, which was reason enough to determine 
the wishes of a modest man. While we were talking together here, a person approached 
us, dressed in the plain manner of a Virginia gentleman upon his estate. This was the 
young proprietor. After his greeting with my friend, and my introduction, he conducted 
us to the old tomb, which is the one represented in the prints scattered through the coun- 
try. It is now going to decay, being unoccupied, is filling up, and partly overgrown with 
vines and shrubs. The change was made with . regret, but a sacred duty seemed to re- 
quire it. It is with this tomb that our associations are connected, and to this the British 
fleet is said to have lowered its flags while passing up the Potomac to make the attack 
upon the capitol. 

To one accustomed to the plantation system and habits of Virginia, this estate may 
have much that i.*! common with others ; but to persons unused to this economy, the 
whole is new and striking. Of things peculiar to the place, are a low rampart of brick, 
now partly overgrown, which Washington had built around the front of the house, and 
an underground passage leading from the bottom of a dry well, and coming out by the 
river side at the foot of the mount. On the westsi3e"of the house are two gardens, a 
green-house, and — the usual accompaniments of a plantation — seed-houses, tool-houses, 
and cottages for the negroes — things possessing no particular interest, except because 
they were standing during Washington's life, and were objects of his frequent attention. 
I would not be one to countenance the making public of any thing pertaining to those 
who have received a visitor in confidence and good faith. And I hope not to transgress 
when I say, that if he can judge from what may be seen among those who bear the 
name and inherit the estate of the hero, no Massachusetts man need fear that the bond 
which united the two ancient historical commonwealths, is at all weakened ; or that those 
memory-charge, cabalistic words, Massachusetts and Virginia, have lost any of their 
force with the true sons of either. Among the things of note shown us in the house, 
was the key of the Bastile, sent to Washington from France at the time of the destruc- 
tion of the prison. Along the walls of the room hung engravings, which were mostly 
battle or hunting-pieces. Among them I noticed a print of Bunker Hill, but none of any 
battle in which Washington himself was engaged. The north room was built by Wash- 
ington for a dining-room, and for the meetings of his friends and political visitors. The 
furniture of the room is just as when he used it, and leads us back to the days when there 
were met within these walls the great men of that generation who carried the states 
through the revolution, laid the foundations of the government, and administered it in 
its purer days. The rooms of the house are spacious, and there is something of elegance 
in their arrangement ; yet the whole is marked by great simplicity. All the regard one 
could wish seems to have been shown to the sacredness of these public relics, and all 
things have been kept very nearly as Washington left them. Money made in the 
stocks can purchase the bedizenry of our city drawing-rooms ; but these elevating asso- 
ciations, which no gold can buy, no popular favor win, which can only be inherited, 
these are the heir-looms, the traditionary titles and pensions, inalienable, not conferred, 
which a republic allows to the descendants of her great servants. 

Let every American, and especially every young American, visit this place, and 
catch, if he can, something of its spirit. It will make an impression upon him which he 
may keep through life. It will teach him the story and lessons of the past so as no 
printed page can teach them. From amid the small machinery of day and week poli- 
tics, he may learn what was once the tone of public life. It will enlarge his patriotism, 
elevate his notions of the public service, and call out some sense of veneration and loy- 
alty towards the institutions of his country and the memory of her mighty dead ; so that 
Young America may, as there is some hope she may, bring back the elements which 
dignified the first eight years of our constitutional history. 

As the afternoon rew to a close, and we were obliged to take oui-' leave, regret from 
parting from our courteous entertainers, was lost in the grand and solemn impression 



260 



FAIRFAX COUNTY. 



made by all around us. Nothing was real. Every thing acted through the imagina- 
tion. Each object was dim with associations, and seemed but the exponent of some 
thought or emotion, the shadow of something great and past. The whole was enchanted 
ground ; and the occupants seemed privileged persons, whom the guardian spirits of the 
place allowed to remain its tenants and keepers. When the young proprietor took leave 
of us at the piazza, he stood where Washington had stood to welcome and to part from 
the immortal men of France and America. He stood there his representative to a third 
generation. It may well be supposed that as we rode slowly home, our thoughts were 
in no ordinary course. We repassed the gate, the rivulet, and the open field, but still 
we were on enchanted ground. So impressed was I with this feeling, that had I met a 
procession of the great men of the past, riding slowly towards the mansion of their com- 
panion in arms and in the cabinet, it would have seemed only a natural consummation. 
It was not until we had reached the town, and our horses' hoofs struck upon the pave- 
ment, that the illusion was fairly broken. 

The following was found inscribed on the back of a small por- 
trait of Washington at Mount Vernon. It was written by some 
unknown visitor, supposed to have been an English traveller : 



WASHINGTON, 

The Defender of his Country.— The Founder of Liberty ; 

The Friend of Man. 

History and Tradition are explored in vain, 

For a Parallel to his Character. 

In the Annals of Modern Greatness 

He stands alone ; 

And the noblest names of antiquity, 

Lose their Lustre in his Presence. 

Bom the Benefactor of Mankitid, 

He united all the qualities necessary 

To an illustrious career. 

Nature made him great, 

He made himself virtuous. 

Called by his country to the defence of her Liberties, 

He triumphantly vindicated the rights of humanity : 

And on the Pillars of National Independence 

Laid the foundations of a great republic. 

Twice invested with supreme magistracy, 

By the unanimous voice of a free people 

He surpassed in the Cabinet 

The Glories of the Field. 

And voluntarily resigning the Sceptre and the Sword, 

Retired to the shades of Private Life. 

A spectacle so new and so sublime 

Was contemplated with the profoundest admiration. 

And the name of Washington, 

Adding new lustre to humanity, 

Resounded to the remotest regions of the earth. 

Magnanimous in youth, 

Glorious through life, 

Great in Death. 

His highest ambition, the Happiness of Mankind ; 

His noblest Victory, the conquest of himself. 

Bequeathing to posterity the inheritance of his fame, 

And building his monument in the hearts of his countrymen. 

He Lived — The Ornament of the 18th Century. 

He Died — Regretted by a Moiurning World. 



Gunston Hall, which was the seat of the celebrated George 
Mason, stands on an elevated and commanding site overlooking the 
Potomac, 

Mr. Jefferson said that he was " of the first order of wisdom, among those who acted 
on the theatre of the revolution, of expansive mind, profound judgment, cogent in ar- 
gument, learned in the lore of our former constitution, and earnest for the republican 
change on democratic principles. His eloquence was neither flowing nor smooth ; but 
his language was strong, his manner most impressive, and strengthened by a dash of 
biting criticism when provocation made it seasonable." Mr. Mason was the framer of 
the constitution of Virginia, and a member of the convention which formed the federal 
constitution, but he did not sign that instrument. In conjunction with Patrick Henry, 



FAUQUIER COUNTY. 261 

he opposed its adoption in the Virginia convention, believing that it would tend to the 
conversion of the government into a monarchy. He also opposed the slave trade with 
great zeal. He died at his seat in the autumn of 1792, aged 67 years. 

The annexed epitaph was copied from a tombstone on the banks 
of Neabsco Creek, in October, 1837. It is, without doubt, the 
oldest monumental inscription in the United States. From the 
earliness of the date, 1608, it is supposed that the deceased was a 
companion of Capt. John Smith on one of his exploratory voyages. 

Here lies ye body of Lieut. William Herris, who died May ye 16th, 1608: aged 065 
years ; by birth a Britain, a good soldier ; a good husband and neighbor. 



FAUQUIER. 

FAuauiER was created in 1759, from Prince William, and named 
from Francis Fauquier, Gov. of Va. from 1758 to 1767. Its great- 
est length is 45 miles, mean breadth 16. The surface is agreeably 
diversified, and the soil, when judiciously cultivated, susceptible 
of high improvement, and very productive. In the county exist 
valuable beds of magnesia and soapstone, and there are several 
gold mines worked by the farmers with tolerable profit, at inter- 
vals of leisure from their agricultural labors. Pop., whites 10,501, 
slaves 10,708, free colored 688; total, 21,891. 

Warrenton, the county-seat, is 102 miles nnw. from Richmond. 
It is a beautiful village in the heart of the county, adorned with 
shade-trees, standing upon an eminence commanding a fine view 
of some of the spurs of the Blue Ridge. It contains about a dozen 
mercantile stores, 1 Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, and 1 Methodist 
church, a fine male academy where ancient and modern languages 
are taught, a female academy in excellent repute, a newspaper 
printing office, the county buildings, among which is a handsome 
court-house, (shown in the annexed view,) and a population of 
about 1,400. An excellent macadamized road leads from here to 
Alexandria. Among the anecdotes we have gathered " by the 
way," the one herewith presented is, perhaps, worthy of insertion. 
Some thirty or more years since, at the close of a long summer's 
day, a stranger entered this village. He was alone and on foot, 
and his appearance was any thing but prepossessing. His gar- 
ments, coarse and dust-covered, indicated an individual in the 
humbler walks. From a cane resting across his shoulders was sus- 
pended a handkerchief containing his clothing. Stopping in front 
of Turner's tavern, he took from his hat a paper and handed it to 
a gentleman standing on the steps : it read as follows — 

The celebrated historian and naturalist, Volney, needs no recommendation from 

G. Washington 

There are several other villages in Fauquier. Upperville, at 
the foot of the Blue Ridge, in the nw. angle of the county, is a 
new and flourishing village in a very rich agricultural country, on 



262 



FAUQUIER COUNTY. 



the main road from Winchester to Alexandria. It contains 1 Met., 
1 Epis., and 1 Baptist church, and a population of about 500. Paris 





Central View in Warrenton. 

and Soraerville contain each about 40, and New Baltimore 20 
dwellings. 

The Fauquier White Sulphur Springs are 6 miles sw. of War- 
renton. The improvements are very extensive, and the grounds 
beautifully adorned with shrubbery. These springs are very popu- 
lar, and of easy access from the eastern cities. 

John Marshall, late 
Chief Justice of the 
United States, was born 
at a locality called Ger- 
mantown, in this coun- 
ty, 9 miles below War- 
renton. The house in 
which he was born is not in existence. When he was quite young, the family moved to 
Goose's Creek, under Manassa's Gap, near the Blue Ridge, and still later to Oak Hill, 
where the family lived at the commencement of the revolution. His father, Thomas 
Marshall, was a planter of limited means and education, but of strong natural powers, 
which, cultivated by observation and reflection, gave him the reputation of extraordinary 
fibility. He served with distinction in the revolution, as a colonel in the continental 
army. John was the eldest of fifteen children. The narrow fortune of Col. Marshall, 
and the sparsely inhabited condition of Fauquier, compelled him to be almost exclu- 
sively the teacher of his children, and to his instructions the Chief-Justice said, '' he 
owed the solid foundation of all his success in life." He early implanted m his eldest 
son a taste for English literature, especially for poetry and history. At the age of twelve, 
John had transcribed the whole of Pope's Essay on Man, and some of his Moral Es- 
says ; and had committed to memory many of the most interesting passages of that dis- 

"At'the age of 14 he was placed with the Rev. Mr. Campbell, in Westmoreland, where, 
for a year, he was instructed in Latin, and had for a fellow-student James Monroe. The 
succeeding year was passed at his father's, where he continued the study under the Rev. 
Mr. Thompson, a Scotch gentleman, which " was the whole of the classical tuition he 
ever obtained. By the assistance of his father, however, and the persevering efforts of 
his own mind, he continued to enlarge his knowledge, while he strengthened his body by 
• hardy, athletic exercises in the open air. He engaged in field sports ; he indulged his 



FAUaUIER COUNTY. 263 

solitary meditations amidst the wildest scenery of nature; he delighted to brush away 
the earliest dews of the morning'.' " To these early habits in a mountain region he 
owed a vigorous constitution. The simple manner of living among the people of those 
regions of that early day, doubtless contributed its share. He ever recurred with fond- 
ness to that primitive mode of life, when he partook with a keen relish balm tea and 
mush ; and when the females used thorns for pins. 

In the summer of 1775 he was appointed Lieut, in the " Minute Battalion," and had 
an honorable share in the battle of Great Bridge. In July, 1776, he was appointed 1st 
Lieut, in the 11th Virginia regiment, on the continental establishment, which marched 
to the north in the ensuing winter; and in May, 1777, he was promoted to a captaincy. 
He was in the skirmish at Iron Hill, and at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, 
and Monmouth. He was one of that body of men, never surpassed in the history of 
the world, who, unpaid, unclothed, unfed, tracked the snows of Valley Forge with the 
blood of their footsteps in the rigorous winter of 1778, and yet turned not their faces 
from their country in resentment, or from their enemies in fear. 

That part of the Virginia line which was not ordered to Charleston, (S. C.,) being in 
efTect dissolved by the expiration of the term of enlistment of the soldiers, the officers 
(among whom was Captain Marshall) were, in the winter of 1779-80, directed to return 
home, in order to take charge of such men as the state legislature should raise for them. 
It was during this season of inaction that he availed himself of the opportunity of at- 
tending a course of law lectures given by Mr. Wythe, afterwards chancellor of the state; 
and a course of lectures on natural philosophy, given by Mr. Madison, president of Wil- 
liaifl and Mary College in Virginia. He left this college in the summer vacation of 
1780, and obtained a license to practise law. In October he returned to the army, and 
continued in service until the termination of Arnold's invasion. After this period, and 
before the invasion of Phillips, in February, 1781, there being a redundancy of officers 
in the Virginia line, he resigned his commission. 

During the invasion of Virginia, the courts of law were not reopened until after the 
capitulation of Lord CornwalHs. Immediately after that event, Mr. Marshall com- 
menced the practice of law, and soon rose into distinction at the bar. 

In the spring of 1782, he was elected a member of the state legislature, and in the 
autumn of the same year, a member of the executive council. In January, 1783, he 
married Miss Ambler, the daughter of a gentleman who was then treasurer of the 
state, and to whom he had become attached before he left the army. This lady lived 
for nearly fifty years after her marriage, to partake and enjoy the distinguished honors 
of her husband. In 1784, he resigned his seat at the council-board in order to return 
to the bar ; and he was immediately afterwards again elected a member of the legisla- 
ture for the county of Fauquier, of which he was then only nominally an inhabitant, his 
actual residence being at Richmond. In 1787 he was elected a member from the county 
of Henrico ; and though at that time earnestly engaged in the duties of his profession, 
he embarked largely in the political questions which then agitated the state, and indeed 
the whole confederacy. 

Every person at all read in our domestic history must recollect the dangers and diffi- 
culties of those days. The termination of the revolutionary war left the country im- 
poverished and exhausted by its expenditures, and the national finances at a low state 
of depression. The powers of Congress under the confederation, which even during the 
war were often prostrated by the neglect of a single state to enforce them, became in 
the ensuing peace utterly relaxed and inefficient. 

Credit, private as well as public, was destroyed. Agriculture and commerce were 
crippled. The delicate relation of debtor and creditor became daily more and more 
embarrassed and embarrassing ; and, as is usual upon such occasions, every sort of ex- 
pedient was resorted to by popular leaders, as well as by men of desperate fortunes, to 
inflame the public mind, and to bring into odium those who labored to preserve the pub- 
lic faith, and to establish a more energetic government. The whole country was soon 
divided into two great parties, the one of which endeavored to put an end to the public 
evils by the establishment of a government over the Union, which should be adequate 
to all its exigencies, and act directly on the people ; the other was devoted to state 
authority, jealous of all federal influence, and determined at every hazard to resist its 
increase. 

It is almost unnecessary to say, that Mr. Marshall could not remain an idle or indif- 
ferent spectator to such scenes. As Httle doubt could there be of the part he would take 
in such a contest. He was at once arrayed on the side of Washington and Madison. 
In Virginia, as everywhere else, the principal topics of the day were paper money, the 



264 FAUaUIER COUNTY. 

collection of taxes, the preservation of public faith, and the administration of civil jus- 
tice. • The parties were nearly equally divided upon all these topics ; and the contest 
concerning them was continually renewed. In such a state of things, every victory 
was but a temporary and questionable triumph, and every defeat still left enough of hope 
to excite to new and strenuous exertions. The affairs, too, of the confederacy were 
then at a crisis. The question of the continuance of the Union, or a separation of the 
states, was freely discussed ; and, what is almost startling now to repeat, either side of 
it was maintained without reproach. Mr. Madison was at this time, and had been for 
two or three years, a member of the House of Delegates, and was, in fact, the author of 
the resolution for the general convention at Philadelphia to revise the confederation. 
He was at all times the enlightened advocate of union, and of an efficient federal govern- 
ment, and he received on all occasions the steady support of Mr. Marshall. Many have 
witnessed with no ordinary emotions, the pleasure with which both of these gentlemen 
looked back upon their co-operation at that period, and the sentiments of profound re- 
spect with which they habitually regarded each other. 

Both of them were members of the convention subsequently called in Virginia for the 
ratification of the federal constitution. This instrument having come forth under the 
auspices of General Washington and other distinguished patriots of the revolution, was 
at first favorably received in Virginia, but it soon encountered decided hostility. Its 
defence was uniformly and most powerfully maintained there by Mr. Marshall. He Was 
then not thirty years old. It was in these debates that Mr. Marshall's mind acquired 
the skill in political discussion which afterwards distinguished him, and which would of 
itself have made him conspicuous as a parliamentarian, had not that talent been over- 
shadowed by his renown in a more soberly illustrious though less dazzling career. Here, 
too, it was that he conceived that deep dread of disunion, and that profound conviction 
of the necessity for closer bonds between the states, which gave the coloring to the whole 
texture of his opinions upon federal politics in after-life. 

The constitution being adopted, Mr. Marshall was prevailed upon to serve in the 
legislature until 1792. From that time until 1795, he devoted himself exclusively to his 
profession. In 1795, when Jay's Treaty was " the absorbing theme of bitter contro- 
versy," he was elected to the House of Delegates, and his speech in its defence, says 
Judge Story, " has always been represented as one of the noblest efforts of his genius. 

His vast powers of reasoning were displayed with the most gratifying success 

The fame of this admirable argument spread through the Union. Even with his politi- 
cal enemies it enhanced the estimate of his character ; and it brought him at once to 
the notice of some of the most eminent statesmen who then graced the councils of the 
nation." 

Soon after he, with Messrs. Pinkney and Gerry, were sent by President Adams as 
envoys extraordinary to France. The Directory refused to negotiate, and though the 
direct object of the embassy failed, much was effected by the official papers the envoys 
addressed to Talleyrand, her minister of foreign relations, in showing France to be in 
the wrong. These papers — models of skilful reasoning, clear illustration, accurate de- 
tail, and urbane and dignified moderation — have always been attributed to Marshall, and 
bear internal marks of it. Such was the impression made by the dispatches, that on the 
arrival of Mr. Marshall in New York, in June, 1798, his entry had the eclat of a tri- 
umph. A public dinner was given to him by both houses of congress, " as an evidence 
of affection for his person, and of their grateful approbation of the patriotic firmness with 
which he sustained the dignity of his country during his important mission ;" and the 
country at large responded with one voice to the sentiment pronounced at this celebra- 
tion : " Millions for defence, but not a cent for tribute." 

Mr. Marshall was elected to Congress in 1799. He had been there not three weeks, 
when it became his lot to announce the death of Washington. Never could such an 
event have been told in language more impressive or more appropriate. " Mr. Speaker, 
— The melancholy event, which was yesterday announced with doubt, has been rendered 
too certain. Our Washington is no more ! The hero, the patriot, and the sage of America ; 
the man on whom in times of danger every eye was turned, and all hopes were placed, 
lives now only in his own great actions, and in the hearts of an affectionate and afflicted 
people," &c., &c. 

That House of Representatives abounded in talent of the first order for debate ; and 
none were more conspicuous than John Marshall. Indeed, when the law or constitu- 
tion were to be discussed, he was, confessedly, the first man in the house. When he 
discussed them, he exhausted them ; nothing more remained to be said ; and the impres- 
sion of his argument effaced that of every one else. 



PAuatriER COUNTY. 265 

In 1800 he was appointed secretary of state, an oiBce which he held but a few months. 
He was appointed chief-justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, January 31, 
1801 ; " not only without his own solicitation, (for he had in fact recommended another to 
the office,) but by the prompt and spontaneous choice of President Adams, upon his own 
unassisted judgment. The nomination was unanimously confirmed by the Senate. How 
well he filled that office is known to his countrymen. We shall not attempt to protract 
our account of the last thirty-five years of Judge Marshall's life. It was spent in the 
diligent and upright, as well as able discharge of his official duties; sometimes presiding 
in the Supreme Court at Washington, sometimes assisting to hold the circuit federal 
courts in Virginia and North Carolina. His residence was in Richmond, whence it was 
his frequent custom to walk out, a distance of three or four miles, to his farm. He had 
also a farm in his native county, Fauquier, which he annually visited, and where he 
always enjoyed a delightful intercourse with numerous relations and friends. Twice in 
these thirty-five years, he may be said to have mingled in political life ; but not in parly 
politics. In 1828 he was a member of a convention, held in Charlottesville, to devise a 
system of internal improvement for the state, to be commended to the legislature. In 
1829 he was a member of the convention to revise and amend the state constitutioHj 
where he delivered a speech regarded as an unrivalled specimen of lucid and conclusive 
reasoning. 

" No man more highly relished social, and even convivial enjoyments. He was a 
member of a club which for forty-eight summers has met once a fortnight near Richmond, 
to pitch quoits and mingle in relaxing conversation ; and there was not one more de- 
lightedly punctual in his attendance at these meetings, or who contributed more to their 
pleasantness ; scarcely one who excelled him in the manly game, from which the ' Quoit 
Club' drew its designation. He would hurl his iron ring of two pounds weight, with 
rarely erring aim, fifty-five or sixty feet ; and at some chef-d'osuvre of skill in himself 
or his partner, would spring up and clap his hands with all the light-hearted enthusiasm 
of boyhood. Such is the old age which follows a temperate, an innocent, and a useful 
life." 

Chief-Justice Marshall died at Philadelphia, July 6th, 1835, in his 80th year. " The 
love of simplicity and disUke of ostentation, which had marked his life, displayed itself 
also in his last days. Apprehensive that his remains might be encumbered with the 
vain pomp of a costly monument, and a laudatory epitaph, he, only two days before his 
death, directed the common grave of himself and his consort, to be indicated by a plain 
stone, with this simple and modest inscription :" 

John Marshall, son of Thomas and Mary Marshall, was bom on the 24th of September, 1755 J 
intermarried with Mary Willis Ambler the 3d of January, 1783 ; departed this life the day of 

-, 18—. 

This unostentatious inscription, with the blanks only filled, is carved on the plain white 
marble monument erected over his remains, in the grave-yard at Shoccoe Hill, Rich- 
mond. 

The late Francis W. Gilmer, a young man of the finest promise, of whom it is said, 
" had he not prematurely been cut off by the hand of death, would have ranked with 
the foremost men of his age and country," thus described the intellectual character of 
Judge Marshall : — 

His mind is not very richly stored with knowledge ; but it is so creative, so well organized by nattu«, 
or disciplined by early education, and constant habits of systematic thinking, that he embraces every 
subject with the clearness and facility of one prepared by previous study to comprehend and explain it. 
So perfect is his analysis, that he extracts the whole matter, the kernel of inquiry, unbroken, clean, and 
entire. In this process, such are the instinctive neatness and precision of his mind, that no superfluous 
thought, or even word, ever presents itself, and still he says every thing that seems appropriate to the 
subject. This perfect exemption from needless incumbrance of matter or ornament, is in some degree the 
effect of an aversion to the labor of thinking. So great a mind, perhaps, like large bodies in the physical 
world, is with difficulty set in motion. That this is the case with Mr. Marshall's, is manifest from his 
mode of entering on an argument, both in conversation and in public debate. It is difficult to rouse his 
faculties ; he begins with reluctance, hesitation, and vacancy of eye ; presently, his articulation becomes 
less broken, his eye more fixed, until, finally, his voice is full; clear, and rapid; his manner bold, and his 
whole face lighted up, with the mingled fires of genius and passion ; and he pours forth the unbroken 
stream of eloquence, in a current deep, majestic, smooth, and strong. He reminds one of some great 
bird, which flounders and flounces on the earth for a while, before it acquires impetus to sustain its soar- 
ing flight. 

The foregoing memoir of Marshall is abridged from an exceedingly interesting one in 
the Southern Literary Messenger for February, 1836, which is partly original and partly 
compiled from the eulogies on his life and character, by Horace Binney, Judge Story, 
and Edgar Snowden. We have, in addition, collected a few reminiscences and anec- 
dotes from different gentlemen, of high respectability, which we presume to be authentic : 

Marshall was noted for extreme plainness of person and address, and a child-like sim- 

34 



266 FAUQUIER COUNTY. 

plicity of character. His carelessness of his personal attire, in early life particularly, ia 
well known, and on one occasion, (as stated in the Literary Messenger,) while travelling, 
occasioned his being refused admittance into a public house. On the occasion which 
we are now to relate, it caused him the loss of a generous fee. Marshall, when just 
rising on the professional ladder, was one morning strolling through the streets of Rich- 
mond, attired in a plain linen roundabout and shorts, with his hat under his arm, from 
which he was eating cherries, when he stopped in the porch of the Eagle hotel, indulged 
in some little pleasantry with the landlord, and then passed on. Mr. P., an elderly gen- 
tleman from the country, then present, who had a case coming on before the court of 
appeals, was referred by the landlord to Marshall, as the best advocate for him to em. 
ploy ; but the careless, languid air of the young lawj'er, had so prejudiced Mr. P. that 
he refused to engage him. On entering court, Mr. P. was a second time referred by the 
clerk of the court, and a second time he declined. At this moment entered Mr. V., a 
venerable-looking legal gentlemen, in a powdered wig and black coat, whose dignified 
appearance produced such an impression on Mr. P. that he at once engaged him. In 
the first case which came on, Marshall and Mr. V. each addressed the court. The 
vast inferiority of his advocate was so apparent, that at the close of the case, Mr. P. in- 
troduced himself to young Marshall, frankly stated the prejudice which had caused him, 
in opposition to advice, to employ Mr. V. ; that he extremely regretted his error, but knew 
not how to remedy it. He had come into the city with one hundred dollars, as his law- 
yer's fee, which he had paid, and had but five left, which, if Marshall chose, he would 
cheerfully give him, for assisting in the case. Marshall, pleased with the incident, ac- 
cepted the offer, not, however, without passing a sly joke at the omnipotence of a pow- 
dered wig and black coat. 

Marshall was accustomed to go to market, and frequently unattended. " Nothing 
was more usual than to see him returning at sunrise, with poultry in one hand and vege- 
tables in the other " On one of these occasions, a would-be fashionable young man from 
the North, who had recently removed to Richmond, was swearing violently because he 
could hire no one to take home his turkey. Marshall stepped up, and ascertaining of 
him where he lived, replied, " That is my way, and I will take it for you." When ar- 
rived at his dwelling, the young man inquired, " What shall I pay you?" " Oh, noth- 
ing," was the rejoinder, " you are welcome ; it was on my way, and no trouble." 
*' Who is that polite old gentleman who brought home my turkey for me ?" inquired the 
other of a by-stander, as Marshall stepped away. "That," replied he, " is John Mar- 
shall, Chief-Justice of the United States." The young man, astounded, exclaimed, 
" Why did he bring home my turkey?" " To give you a severe reprimand, and learn 
you to attend to your own business,'' was the answer. 

The venerable Capt. Philip Slaughter, now (May, 1844) living in Culpeper, was a 
messmate of Marshall's in the revolution. He says Marshall was the best tempered 
man he ever knew. During their sufferings at Valley Forge, nothing discouraged, noth- 
ing disturbed him ; if he had only bread to eat it was just as well ; if only meat it made no 
difference. If any of the ofliicers murmured at their deprivations, he would shame them 
by good-natured raillery, or encourage them by his own exuberance of spirits. He was 
an excellent companion, and idolized by the soldiers and his brother officers, whose 
gloomy hours were enlivened by his inexhaustible fund of anecdote. 

For sterling honesty no man ever exceeded Marshall. He never would, knowingly, 
argue in defence of injustice, or take a legal advantage at the expense of moral honesty. 
A case of the latter is in point. He became an endorser on a bond amounting to several 
thousand dollars. The drawer failed, and Marshall paid it, although he knew it could 
be avoided, inasmuch as the holder had advanced the amount at more than legal in- 
terest. 

He possessed a noble generosity. In passing through Culpeper, on his way to Fau- 
quier, he fell in company with Mr. S., an old fellow-officer in the army of the revolution. 
In the course of conversation, Marshall learned that there was a lien upon the estate of 
his friend to the amount of $3000, about due, and he was greatly distressed at the pros, 
pect of impending ruin. On bidding farewell, Marshall privately left a check for the 
amount, which being presented to Mr. S. after his departure, he, impelled by a chival- 
rous independence, mounted, and spurred on his horse until he overtook his friend. He 
thanked him for his generosity, but refused to accept it. Marshall strenuously per- 
sisted in its acceptance, and the other as strongly persisted in not accepting. Finally it 
resulted in a compromise, by which Marshall took security on the lien, but never called 
for pay. 



FA\ETTE COUNTY. 267 

Gen. Simon Kenton was born in this county, May 15th, 1755. His parentage was 
humble, and his education was entirely neglected. At the early age of 16, he became 
entangled in the snares of a young coquette, and soon had a severe battle with a rival 
by the name of Leitchman. Supposing he had killed him, he fled to Kentucky, and be- 
came one of the boldest pioneers of that then wilderness country, and one of the bravest 
that ever encountered the wiles of the Indians. His life was one of eventful incident. 
On being taken prisoner by them, on one occasion, he was eight times exposed to the 
gauntlet — three times tied to the stake to be burnt, and often thought himself on the eve 
of a terrible death. But Providence at last interposed in his favor, and he escaped. He 
was a spy in Dunmore's war. He acted in the same capacity under the gallant Col. 
George Rogers Clarke, in the revolution. He shared in Wayne's victory, and distin- 
guished himself through the whole of the Indian wars of that day. He died in Ohio, 
in 1837, aged 82. His once gigantic form was broken by age ; and his last days, it is 
said, were spent in poverty and neglect. 



FAYETTE. 

Payette was formed in 1831, from Logan, Greenbrier, Nicholas, 
and Kanawha. Its greatest length is 47 miles ; greatest width 30. 
New River, a main branch of the Great Kanawha, runs through 
the county its whole length. Much of the surface of the county- 
is mountainous. The principal mountains are the Gauley, (a con- 
tinuation of Cumberland mountain,) Big and Little Sewel. The 
great turnpike through the Kanawha valley passes over some of 
the most lofty of these mountains. " There are extensive bodies 
of good arable land, in some places partaking of the character of 
what along the Alleghany mountains is denominated glades, and 
in the west, prairies. The average price of unimproved, or wild 
lands of good quality, is one dollar per acre. We are satisfied that 
these lands, in point of natural fertility, and adaptation to the cul- 
ture of grain, grasses, fruits, &c., is superior to the Jjest coun- 
ties east of the Blue Ridge." Pop., whites 3,773, slaves 133, free 
colored 18 ; total 3,924. 

Fayetteville,the county-seat, is 289 miles westerly from Richmond, 
and contains a few dwellings. The turnpike leading from Charles- 
ton, on the south side of the Kanawha River, passes through the 
place, and terminates at the Red Sulphur Springs in Monroe coun- 
ty. Gauley Bridge is situated at the falls of the Great Kanawha, 
just below the junction of the Gauley and New Rivers, 36 miles 
above Charleston. There are here a store or two and several mills. 
The Kanawha at this spot is 500 yards wide, and has a fall of 22 
feet over a ledge of rocks extending entirely across the stream. 
This is one of the wildest and most picturesque regions of the 
state. It is the last navigable point on the Kanawha, and pre- 
sents one of the best sites for machinery in Virginia. A traveller 
who visited these falls, thus describes his impressions : 

We reached the hotel at which we were to pause, about midnight. It is near to the 
Kanawha Falls ; and from the beauty of the neighborhood has many visitors. I took a 
hasty cup of coffee, and weary as I was, went with another gentleman to see the Falls. 
We could hear them in the distance ; but we had to go round in order to reach them. 
The chief of our way was over shattered rock, offering a good access by day, but re- 



..:..Z 



268 PAYETTE COUNTY. 

quiring care at night, from the sharp pitches of some parts, and from the numerous cir- 
cular holes bored in them by the eddies of the water. They are not to be spoken of 
with Niagara, or even with ShaufFausen, but the whole scene was striking and interest- 
ing, the more so, undoubtedly, in tlie still hour of night. I seated myself on a shelf of 
rock whence the waters made their principal leap. Darkness had spread its curtain on 
the sleeping objects in the distance. The pale moon had run her race, and was just 
falling behind the hills ; her last lights fell faintly on my face and the head of waters, 
but left the precipices and pools before me in heavy shadows. At my feet the river 
was dashing, and lifting up its voice from the depths beneath to Him who holds the 
waters in tlie hollow of his hand. It had done so for ages past ; it would do so for ages 
to come. Here the poor Indian had stood, but will never stand again, thinking he 
heard in those waters the voice of Deity, and gazing on the face of that orb with wonder, 
till the spirit of worship was stirred within him. Here also I stood, and shall never 
stand again, wistfully looking through the visible and audible to the unseen but present 
object of adoration and praise. 

On New River, along which passes the Kanawha turnpike, and 
within 10 m. of its junction with the Gauley, the traveller passes 
by the sunmmit of a high cliff of rocks, long known as the Hawk's 
Nest, but more recently called MarshalVs Pillar, in honor of the 
late venerable chief-justice, who, as one of the state commission- 
ers in 1812, stood upon its fearful brink, and sounded its exact 
depth to the river margin, which is about 1000 ft. Standing upon 
the verge of this precipice, the river, diminished by distance in the 
deep valley below to a silvery thread between two borders of 
green, appears to wash the base of the cliff; yet it requires a 
powerful arm to cast a stone into its waters. The sublime and 
elevating emotions which this scene is calculated to inspire, are 
given in the following chaste and beautiful language of a foreign 
traveller : 

We returned to the inn. I had an hour and a half of rest ; and was found with my 
companions on the way, soon after 3 o'clock. Most of the company showed that they 
had only been awakened, like a child, to be put in a new position, and their heads were 
nodding about in all directions. About 7 o'clock, however, we approached a spot which 
is of great reputed beauty, and we pledged the coachman to stop, that we might have 
a fair sight of it. You leave tlie road by a little by-path, and after pursuing it for a 
short distance, the whole scene suddenly breaks upon you. But how shall I describe it ? 
The great charm of the whole is greatly connected with the point of sight, which is the 
finest imaginable. You come suddenly to a spot which is called the Hawk's Nest. It 
projects on the scene, and is so small as to give standing to only some half dozen persons. 
It has on its head an old picturesque pine ; and it breaks away at your feet abruptly 
and in perpendicular lines, to a depth of more than 1000 feet. On this standing, 
which, by its elevated and detached character, afiects you like the Monument, the forest 
rises above and around you. Beneath and before you is spread a lovely valley. A 
peaceful river glides down it, reflecting, like a mirror, all the lights of heaven — washes 
the foot of the rocks on wliich you arc standing — and then winds away into another 
valley at your right. The trees of the wood, in all their variety, stand out on the ver- 
dant bottoms, with tlieir heads in the sun, and casting their shadows at their feet ; but 
.so diminished, as to look more like tlie pictures of the things than the things themselves. 
The green hills rise on either hand and all around, and give completeness and beauty to 
the scene ; and beyond these appears the gray outline of the more distant mountains, 
bestowing grandeur to what was supremely beautiful. It is exquisite. It conveys to 
you the idea of peri'cct solitude. The hand of man, the foot of man, seem never to have 
touched that valley. To you, though placed in the midst of it, it seems altogether in- 
accessible. You long to stroll along the margin of those sweet waters, and repose undci 
the shadows of those beautiful trees ; but it looks impossible. It is solitude, but of <t 
most soothing, not of an appalling character — where sorrow might learn to forget her 
griefs, and folly bcj/iii to ho wise and Ir.ippy. 



2G0 




MARSHALL'S PILLAR, 



270 FLUVANNA COUNTY. 

On Big Beaver Creek, in this county, are the remains of an ancient 
fortification, which occupies an area of about 20 square rods. The 
walls were built of stone, and, it is supposed, were 6 ft. high, and 
at the base 7 ft. thick. The reader will find a plan, drawn by A. 
Beckley, and a description by Isaac Craig, in the American Pioneer 
for Sept. 1842. 



FLOYD. 



Floyd was formed in 1831 from Montgomery, and was named 
from John Floyd, governor of Virginia from 1829 to 1834. It is 
35 m. long, with a mean width of 15 m. It is watered by Little 
Rivei', a branch of New River. The surface is mountainous, and 
the soil generally more adapted to grazing than grain. Horses, 
oxen, hogs, and sheep, are the principal staples. There were in 1840, 
whites 4,123, slaves 321, free colored 9 ; total, 4,453. Jackson- 
ville, or Floyd C. H., is a small village 215 m. sw. of Richmond. 

The Buffalo Knob, in this county, is a very lofty eminence, from the top of which the 
view is sublime. On the north, east, and west, the beholder is amazed at the boundless 
succession of mountains rising beyond mountains — while far away to the south, the plain 
seems to stretch to an interminable length. On the east, the knob is accessible on 
horseback, being two miles in height from the beginning of the ascent to the highest 
point ; on the west it breaks off precipitately, and presents the shape of the animal 
whose name it bears. This mountain is seen 60 or 80 miles, towering above all others. 
On the highest point is a space of about 30 acres, which is so elevated that not any trees 
grow there ; and in the warmest days of summer, the visitor requires thick clothing to 
protect him from the cold. The spot is covered with fine grass, strawberry-vines, and 
gooseberry and currant-bushes. The fruit upon them is of superior flavor, but it does 
not ripen until two or three months later than that upon the lowlands. 



FLUVANNA. 

Fluvanna was formed in 1777, from Albemarle. It is 26 m. 
long, and 16 wide. The Rivanna enters it from Albemarle, and 
flowing SE. through the co., divides it nearly equally. The surface 
is generally broken, excepting between the James and the Rivan- 
na, where there is a large tract of barren level land. The soil on 
the rivers is good, and that on the James extremely fertile. Gold 
has been found and worked near Palmyra. Much tobacco is 
raised in the county, and of a superior quality. Pop., whites 4,445, 
slaves 4,146, free colored 221 ; total, 8,812. 

Palmyra, the county-seat, lies on the Rivanna, 62 miles westerly 
from Richmond. It contains about 20 dwellings. Columbia, on 
the Rivanna, at its junction with the James, is a village somewhat 
larger. At the Union Mills, on the Rivanna, in the nw. part of 
the county, is an extensive cotton factory, situated in the midst of 
beautiful mountain and river scenery. 



FRANKLIN COUNTY. 271 

At the confluence of the two branches of the James, in this county, 
is a point of land called the Point of Fork, where, in the latter 
part of the revolution, a state arsenal was established, and a large 
quantity of military stores collected. When the state was invaded 
by Cornwallis, Baron Steuben had charge of this post. When 
Tarleton was detached to Charlottesville, Lieut.-Col. Simcoe was 
sent to destroy the magazines at the Point of Fork, and he was 
ultimately to be joined by Tarleton, to assist his intended opera- 
tions. The following details of this excursion are from Girardin : 

With their accustomed eagerness and activity, the two indefatigable and dreaded par* 
tisans entered upon the execution of their respective tasks. This double movement ren- 
dered Steuben's situation unusually perilous. The extreme difficulty of obtaining prompt 
and correct information respecting the British and their schemes — the severe precautions 
which Simcoe took for securing every person met or seen on his route, effectually con 
cealed his march from the baron. The latter, however, became apprized of Tarleton's 
rapid advance. Imagining himself the immediate object of it, he lost no time in trans- 
porting his stores to the south side of the Fluvanna, intending himself speedily to follow, 
with the whole division under his command. When Simcoe reached the Point of Fork 
the American stores had been removed, and Steuben's detachment had crossed the river, 
except about 30 men, then awaiting the return of the boats to embark and join theii 
friends. These men unavoidably fell into the hands of the British cavalry. The rivej 
was deep and unfordable, and all the boats had been secured on the south side of it •, 
Simcoe's main object was, therefore, frustrated. Under the mortification arising from 
this disappointment, a singular stratagem occurred to his wily mind. It was to impress 
the baron with the belief that the troops now at the Point of Fork were the advance of 
the British army, ready to overwhelm him ; and thus to work upon his fears so far as to 
induce him to sacrifice most of the stores which had been transported over the Fluvanna. 
For this purpose he encamped on the heights opposite to Steuben's new station, advan- 
tageously displaying his force, and by the number of his fires suggesting a probability 
of the main body, headed by Cornwallis, having actually reached the neighborhood. 
The baron, who had been informed that the corps under Tarleton threatened his left, 
now fancied himself in imminent danger. Retreating precipitately during the night, he 
marched near 30 miles from the Point of Fork, abandoning to the enemy such stores as 
could not be removed. In the morning, Simcoe observing the success of his stratagem, 
and wishing to give it still further effect, procured some small canoes, and sent across 
the river Capt. Stephenson, with a detachment of light infantry, and Cornet Wolsey 
with four hussars. The former was directed to destroy the stores and arms which the 
baron had left behind in the hurry and confusion of his premature retreat ; and the latter, 
to mount his hussars, who had carried their saddles over with them, on such straggling 
horses as he was hkely to find, to patrol some miles on the route taken by Steuben — in 
short, to exhibit every appearance of eager and formidable pursuit. Both these orders 
were successfully executed. Stephenson performed, without delay or annoyance, the 
task of destruction assigned to him ; and Wolsey so confirmed the belief of Steuben that 
the whole British army was close in his rear, that he accelerated his march, retiring still 
further from the river. His object was to resume his original destination, and join Gen. 
Greene ; but he received fresh orders not to leave the state, so long as Cornwallis should 
continue there. On the militia under Lawson, a similar injunction was laid. British 
historians have greatly exaggerated the loss, sustained by the Americans at the Point of 
Fork. Of their thrasonic accounts, undoubted evidence is in the hands of the author 
of this narrative. 



FRANKLIN. 

Franklin was formed in 1784, from Bedford and Henry : its 
length is 30, with a mean breadth of 20 miles. The Roanoke runs 
on its south boundary, and the county is intersected by numerous 



272 FREDERICK COUNTY. 

small creeks. The surface is rolling, and the Blue Ridge forms its 
western boundary. The soil is on a clay foundation, and is well 
adapted to farming. The county produces very large crops of 
tobacco, Indian corn, oats, wheat, and some cotton. The tanning 
business is extensively carried on. Population in 1830,14,911; 
1840, 15,832. Rocky Mount, the county-seat, lies 179 miles sw. 
of Richmond : it derives its name from an abrupt precipice in the 
vicinity. The town contains about 30 dwellings, and near it is an 
extensive iron furnace. Union Hall is a smaller post-village, at 
the intersection of the road from Pittsylvania C. H. to Rocky 
Mount. Iron ore, some of which is of a superior quality, is found 
in various parts of the county. 



FREDERICK. 

Frederick was formed in 1738, from Orange : it is 25 miles long, 
with a mean width of 18 miles. The soil is highly productive, and 
its surface diversified. Opequan, Sleepy, and Back Creeks rise in 
this county, and flow into the Potomac. A rail-road extends from 
Winchester to the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-Road at Harper's 
Ferry. Population, whites 11,119, slaves 2,302, free colored 821 ; 
total, 14,242. 

Newtown, or Stephensburg, is a neat and thriving village, 8 
miles south of Winchester, on the macadamized road to Staunton. 
There are about 100 dwellings, 2 churches, a market-house, about 
a dozen shops for the manufacture of wagons, (for which the place 
is noted,) together with other mechanical and mercantile establish- 
ments, and a population of about 800. Stephensburg was estab- 
lished by law in 1758, and named after Peter Stephens, its founder, 
who came to Virginia with Joist Hite in 1732. It was settled 
almost exclusively by Germans, whose descendants long preserved 
the customs and language of their ancestors. Middletown lies 5 
miles s. of Stephensburg, on the same road. It contains 1 Metho- 
dist and 1 Episcopal church, and about 60 dwellings. Gainsboro', 
Brucetown, and Whitehall, are small places, the first of which 
contains 2 churches, and about 30 dwellings. Jordan's White Sul- 
phur Springs, 6 miles n. of Winchester, have lately come into no- 
tice, and are growing in popular favor. The waters are said to 
resemble the celebrated White Sulphur Springs of Greenbrier. 

Winchester, the county-seat, is 74 miles from Washington city, 
146 from Richmond, and 30 from Harper's Ferry. Next to Wheel- 
ing, it is the largest town west of the Blue Ridge. It is in the 
beautiful and fertile valley of Virginia, and is surrounded by a 
rich and abundant country. The town is well and substantially 
built, the streets cross each other at right angles, and are generally 
paved, and the houses are mostly of brick or stone. As a whole, 
it is very compact, and has a business, city-like aspect. The pub- 
lic buildings are a court-house, jail, market-house, masonic hall, 



PEEDERICK COUNTY. 



273 



and a lyceum. There are 2 newspaper printing offices, an acade- 
my, 2 banks — the Farmers' Branch Bank and the Bank of the 




Loudon-street, Winchester 

Valley — a Savings Institution, about 50 stores of different kinds, 
and a variety of mechanical and manufacturing establishments, 
12 churches — 2 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal,* 2 Baptist, 2 Methodist, 
2 Lutheran, 1 German Reformed, 1 Friends, and 1 Catholic — and 
a population in 1840 of 3,454. A rail-road connects Winchester 
with Harper's Ferry. 

" Tradition informs us that the ground on the edge of the present site of Winchester, 
was occupied by a large and powerful tribe of Indians, called the Shawnees, or Shaw- 
anees, and some springs at that point are called the Shawnee Springs at this day. The 
earliest accounts of the settlement of Winchester state that there were two houses on its 
present location as early as 1738, situated near the town run ; but its establishment as a 
town commenced in Feb., 1752, in the 25th year of the reign of George II., when the 
General Assembly passed an ' act for the establishment of the town of Winchester.' 
In 1758 it was enlarged in consideration of an additional quantity of land being laid off 
in lots by Col. James Wood, now called in the plot of the town, Wood's addition. Trus- 
tees were then appointed, consisting of Lord Fairfax, Col. Martin, and others ; vide 
Henning's Statutes at Large, vol. 7, p. 135. Additions to the toAvn were also made by 
Lord Fairfax. Col. Wood is therefore entitled to the honor of being the founder. Win- 
chester is mentioned by General Washington as being one of the points in his route, in 
his celebrated mission, by order of Governor Dinwiddie, to the French authorities on the 
Ohio. He came from Alexandria to Winchester, where he procured baggage horses, &c. 
This was in November, 1753. 

* The first Episcopal Church, in the Valley of Virginia, was erected in Winchester. 
The following relating to it is from Hawks' History of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in Virginia, published in 1836. " Morgan Morgan was a native of Wales, whence he 
emigrated in early life to the province of Pennsylvania. In the year 1726, he removed 
to what is now the county of Berkeley, in Virginia, and built the first cabin which was 
reared on the south side of the Potomac, between the Blue Ridge and the North Moun- 
tain. He was a man of exemplary piety, devoted to the Church ; and in the year 1740, 
associated with Dr. John Briscoe and Mr. Hite, he erected the first Episcopal Church 
in the valley of Virginia. This memorial of his zeal, it is believed, is still standing, 
and now forms that part of the parish of Winchester which is known as ' Mill Creek 
Church.' " 

35 



274 FREDERICK COUNTY. 

" In the French and Indian warfare that succeeded, Washington fixed his head- 
quarters at Winchester, which was then a frontier settlement, the North mountain, 
a few miles west of Winchester, being the boundary. From the fear occasioned by the 
attacks of the French and Indians, this place was almost the only settlement west of 
the Blue Ridge, which range of mountains was, as late as 1756, the northwestern fron- 
tier. At that period, public stores, to a large amount, were deposited at Winchester for 
the frontier settlement. After the distinguished action at Great Meadows, July 4, 1754, 
Washington returned with his regiment to Winchester to recruit ; soon after which, he 
was joined by a few companies from Maryland and North Carolina ; after which rein- 
forcement they were ordered, by the lieutenant-governor, to march immediately over the 
Alleghany to drive the French from Fort Duquesne, or build one in its vicinity. After 
the disastrous defeat of Braddock, Washington, with the remains of the brave Virginia 
troops, retreated to Westchester. Upon the invasion of the frontiers by the French and 
Indians, Washington, then on his way to Williamsburg, the seat of government, was 
overtaken by an express, below Fredericksburg, with the inteUigence that the French 
and Indians had broken in upon the frontier settlements, and were murdering and cap- 
turing women and children, burning houses, destroying crops, &c., and that the troops 
stationed among them were insufficient for their protection. He immediately hastened 
back to Winchester, where the utmost confusion and alarm prevailed. His attempts to 
raise the militia were unsuccessful. He sent urgent orders to the county lieutenants, 
east of the Blue Ridge, to hasten their militia to Winchester ; but before these orders 
could be executed, the enemy, which had done so much injury, and caused so much 
alarm, had recrossed the Alleghany mountain. Col. Washington, after repeated inef- 
fectual efforts to arouse the government to act on the offensive, and adopt a more efficient 
system of warfare, by sending a force sufficient to destroy Fort Duquesne, at length 
prevailed, and Gen. Forbes was ordered to undertake the campaign for its reduction. On 
the 24th of May, 1758, orders were issued to Washington's regiment to rendezvous at 
Winchester, and be in readiness to march in 15 days. June 24, the Virginia troops, in 
pursuance to the orders they had received, moved in detachments from Winchester to 
Fort Cumberland, where they assembled early in July. Upon the reduction of Fort Du- 
quesne — when its name was changed to Pitt, in honor of the then British Minister — ■ 
Col. Washington, after furnishing 200 men from his regiment to garrison the fort, marched 
the rest back to Winchester, whence he soon proceeded to Williamsburg to take his seat 
in the House of Delegates, of which he had been elected a member by the county of 
Frederick, while at Fort Cumberland. During these contests a fort was built at Win- 
chester, the remains of which are still visible at the north end of the principal street. 
In Henning's Statutes, vol. 7, page 33, we find the 16th clause of a law passed March, 
1756, which refers to this fort, and the appropriation for its erection, in these words : 
' And whereas, it is now judged necessary that a fort should be immediately erected in 
the town of Winchester, county of Frederick, for the protection of the adjacent inhab- 
itants against the barbarities daily committed by the French and their Indian allies ; be 
it therefore enacted, that the governor, or commander-in-chief of the colony for the time 
being, is hereby empowered and desired to order a fort to be built with all possible dis- 
patch, in the aforesaid town of Winchester ; and that his honor give such orders and 
instructions for the immediate effijcting and garrisoning the same, as he shall think 
necessary for the purpose aforesaid.' The act also appropriates the sum of £1000 for 
carrying the above provision into effect. This fort was called Fort Loudon, in honor of 
the British general. Lord Loudon, who had been appointed to the command of the 
British troops in America." 

The annexed sketch is a representation of the 
|P»iV^ /~~\ remains of Fort Loudon, engraved from a drawing 

I ^ ^ / \ in the possession of the " Virginia Historical and 

V ^r Philosophical Society." " It appears to have been a 

\ ulcLwdl^ ^ field-work, or redoubt, having four bastions, whose 

I fianks and faces were each 25 feet, with curtains 96 

^_^JUi§^^ I feet." The dotted lines represent the present course 

^^^^Z^.... I of Loudon street. It is stated in the History of the 

I Valley, upon authority entitled to the highest respect, 
i^^ff^^^' C'It' the gentleman furnishing the information referred to 
fjU Lf%y l\. ^ |^« having been informed by Washington's officers, that 

/ ^^ Washington marked out the Mte of this fort and 

'Y' '"1""""_— ^ ^jk superintended its erection ; that he bought a lot in 
I -f"r BM^^^^k. "0 Winchester, had a blacksmith shop erected on it, and 

*- f >■: — I brought from Mount Vernon his own blacksmith to 



FREDERICK COUNTY. 275 

make the necessary iron-work for the fort. The very spot is pointed out where Wash- 
ington's own residence was situated. It is stated that his chamber was above the gate- 
way of the fort, in a situation commanding a view of the principal street of the town. 
This fort covered an area of half an acre, and there is still much of its embankments 
and mounds remaining. There is also a well, from which water now rises to the surface, 
sunk through the solid rock 103 feet. The labor of throwing up this fort, and sinking 
this well, was said to have been performed by Washington's regiment. The fort con- 
tained a strong garrison ; and it is stated, by one of the oldest inhabitants of Winchester, 
to have mounted six 18 pounders, six 12 pounders, six 6 pounders, 4 swivels, and 2 how. 
itzers ; and to this day»grape-shot and cannon-balls are found there. These cannon 
were removed from Winchester early in the war of the revolution. This fort was said 
to have been once reconnoitred by a French officer, but never was attacked by the enemy. 

There were a large number of Hessian and German prisoners confined at Winchester 
in the war of the revolution. In 1780, barracks were erected for them 4 miles west of 
the town. In 1781, their numbers had increased to 1600. 

Major Peter Helphistine, of Winchester, was a native of Germany, and a patriot 
of the American revolution. He was a major in the 8th Virginia regiment, command- 
ed by Col. Muhlenberg. This corps was composed of young men of German extraction, 
and frequently called the German regiment. In a campaign at the south, he contract- 
ed a disease from exposure, returned, and died in Winchester, and now lies buried in the 
Lutheran grave-yard. 

Gen. Daniel Roberdeau, an officer of the revolution, also lies buried in one of the 
grave-yards in Winchester. His monument states his death as having taken place Jan. 
5, 1795, at the age of 68 years. He was from the Isle of France, and a Huguenot. His 
descendants are scattered over Virginia. He first settled in Pennsylvania, where he 
built a fort at Wyoming, at his own expense, which was destroyed by the Indians. He 
was a follower of Whitefield, and a modest and estimable man. 

Lord Fairfax was buried under the old Episcopal church, which was on the public 
square. The land on which it stood was given by him to the society, for the construc- 
tion of the church. This structure, which was of stone, was taken down about 12 or 
14 years since. The bones of Fairfax were removed, and placed under the new Episco- 
pal church. In this house there is a monumental slab to his memory. At the time of 
his disinterment, a large mass of silver was found, which was the mounting to his coffin. 
There is now in Winchester an old building used as a stable, which was once a tavern, 
in which it is said Fairfax occasionally held levees. His permanent residence was at 
Greenway Court, 13 miles se. of Winchester. (See p. 235.) 



The following incident, in the life of Chief-Justice Marshall, is 
stated to have taken place at McGuire's hotel in Winchester, which 
stood on the site of the one shown on the right of the foregoing 
view in Loudon-street. It was a plain, unpainted building, and 
was destroyed many years since. The account given below was 
originally published in the Winchester Republican : 

It is not long since a gentleman was travelling in one of the counties of Virginia, and 
about the close of the day stopped at a public house to obtain refreshment, and spend 
the night. He had been there but a short time, before an old man alighted from his gig, 
with the apparent intention of becoming his fellow-guest at the same house. As the old 
man drove up, he observed that both the shafts of his gig were broken, and that they 
were held together by withes formed from the bark of a hickory sapling. Our traveller 
observed further, that he was plainly clad, that his knee-buckles were loosened, and that 
something like negligence pervaded his dress. Conceiving him to be one of the honest 
yeomanry of our land, the courtesies of strangers passed between them, and they entered 
the tavern. It was about the same time that an addition of three or four young gentle- 
men was made to their number — most, if not all of them, of the legal profession. As 
soon as they became conveniently accommodated, the conversation was turned by the 
latter upon an eloquent harangue which had that day been displayed at the bar. It was 
replied by the other, that he had witnessed, the same diiy, a degree of eloquence no doubt 
equal, but that it was from the pulpit. Something hke a sarcastic rejoinder was made 
to the eloquence of the pulpit ; and a warm and able altercation ensued, in which the 
merits of the Christian religion became the subject of discussion. From six o'clock until 



276 



FREDERICK COUNTY, 



eleven, the young champions wielded the sword of argument, adducing with ingenuity 
and ability, every thing that could be said pro and con. During this protracted period, 
the old gentleman listened with all the meekness and modesty of a child ; as if he was 
adding new information to the stores of his own mind ; or perhaps he was observing, 
with philosophic eye, the faculties of the youthful mind, and how new energies are 
evolved by repeated action ; or, perhaps, with patriotic emotion, he was reflecting upon 
the future destinies of his country, and on the rising generation upon whom these future 
destinies must devolve ; or, most probably, with a sentiment of moral and religious feel- 
ing, he was collecting an argument which — characteristic of himself — no art would be 
" able to elude, and no force resist.^' Our traveller remained a spectator, and took no 
part in what was said. 

At last one of the young men, remarking that it was impossible to combat with long 
and established prejudices, wheeled around, and with some familiarity exclaimed, " Well, 
my old gentleman, what think you of these things ?" If, said the traveller, a streak of 
vivid lightning had at that moment crossed the room, their amazement could not have 
been greater than it was with what followed. The most eloquent and unanswerable 
appeal was made for nearly an hour, by the old gentleman, that he ever heard or read. 
So perfect was his recollection, that every argument urged against the Christian reli- 
gion was met in the order in which it was advanced. Hume's sophistry on the subject 
of miracles was, if possible, more perfectly answered than it had already been done by 
Campbell. And in the whole lecture there was so much simplicity and energy, pathos 
and sublimity, that not another word was uttered. An attempt to describe it, said the 
traveller, would be an attempt to paint the sunbeams. It was now a matter of curios- 
ity and inquiry who the old gentleman was. The traveller concluded it was the preacher 
from whom the pulpit eloquence was heard — but no — it was the Chief Justice of the 
United States. 



In the Presbyterian grave-yard, at Winchester, is the grave of 
Gen. Daniel Morgan. His monument is a horizontal slab, raised 
a few feet above the ground. It bears the following inscription : 



Major-General DANIEL MORGAN 
departed this life 
On July the 6th, 1802, 
, In the 67th year of his Age. 
Patriotism and valor were the 
prominent Features of his character, 
And 
the honorable services he rendered 
to his country 
during the Revolutionary war, 
crowned him with Glory, and will 
remain in the Hearts of his 
Countrymen 
a Perpetual Monument 
to his 
Memory. 



The military history of the brave commander of the celebrated rifle 
corps of the revolution, — whom to confront was alnjost instant death 
— is generally well known. At the end of the war. Gen. Morgan 
retired to his estate, named Saratoga, a few miles from Winchester. 



GILES COUNTY. 277 



0.,^.^.^,.^^^^^^^^ 



After the expedition against 
the insurgents in the Whis- 
J^ key insurrection, he was se- 

(y lected from this district to 

Congress, where he served two sessions. In 1800 he removed 
to Winchester, where, after a confinement of two years from 
extreme debility, he expired. The house where he resided 
and died, was the frame building now (1844) occupied by the Rev. 
Mr. Boyd, in the nw. part of the town. His widow moved to Pitts 
burg. His two daughters married officers of the revolution. 

A writer in a recent number of the Winchester Republican has. 
in an article descriptive of the Winchester grave-yards, some in- 
teresting facts respecting Gen. Morgan, which we here annex : 

This " thunderbolt of war," this " brave Morgan, who never knew fear," was, in 
camp, often wicked and very profane, but never a disbeliever in religion. He testified 
that himself. In his latter years General Morgan professed religion, and united him- 
self with the Presbyterian church in this place, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. 
(now Dr.) Hill, who preached in this house some forty years, and may now be occasionally 
heard on Loudon street. His last days were passed in this town ; and while sinking to 
the grave, he related to his minister the experience of his soul. " People thought," said 
he, " that Daniel Morgan never prayed ;" — " People said old Morgan never was afraid ;" 
— " People did not know." He then proceeded to relate in his blunt manner, among 
many other things, that the night they stormed Quebec, while waiting in the darkness 
and storm with his men paraded, for the word to advance, he felt unhappy ; the enter- 
prise appeared more than perilous ; it seemed to him that nothing less than a miracle 
could bring them off safe from an encounter at such an amazing disadvantage. He 
stepped aside and kneeled by the side of a munition of war — and then most fervently 
prayed that the Lord God Almighty would be his shield and defence, for nothing less 
than an almighty arm could protect him. He continued on his knees till the word 
passed along the line. He fully believed that his safety during that night of peril was 
from the interposition of God. Again, he said, about the battle of the Cowpens, which 
covered him with so much glory as u leader and a soldier — he had felt afraid to fight 
Tarleton with his numerous army flushed with success — and that he retreated as long 
as he could — till his men complained — and he could go no further. Drawing up his 
army in three lines, on the hill side ; contemplating the scene — in the distance the glit- 
ter of the advancing enemy — he trembled for the fate of the day. Going to the woods 
in the rear, he kneeled in an old tree-top, and poured out a prayer to God for his army, 
and for himself, and for his country. With relieved spirits he returned to the hnes, and 
in his rough manner cheered them for the fight ; as he passed along, they answered him 
bravely. The terrible carnage that followed the deadly aim of his lines decided the vic- 
tory. In a few moments Tarleton fled. " Ah," said he, " people said old Morgan never 
feared ;" — " they thought old Morgan never prayed, they did not know ;" — " old Morgan 
was often miserably afraid." And if he had not been, in the circumstances of amazing 
responsibility in which he was placed, how could he have been brave ? 

The last of his riflemen are gone : the brave and hardy gallants of this valley, that 
waded to Canada and stormed Quebec, are all gone — gone, too, are Morgan's sharp- 
shooters of Saratoga. For a long time two, that shared his captivity in Canada, were 
seen in this village, wasting away to shadows of their youth, celebrating with enthu- 
siasm the night of their battle, as the year rolled round — Peter Lauck and John Schultz. 
But they have answered the roll-call of death, and have joined their leader ; the hardy 
Lauck wondering that Schultz, the feeblest of the band, whom he had so often carried 
through the snows of Canada, should outlive him. There is interest round the last of 
such a corps. 



GILES. 

Giles was formed in 1806, from Monroe and Tazewell, and named 
from Wm. B. Giles, Gov. of Va. from 1826 to 1829 ; it is 50 miles 



278 GILES COUNTY. 

long, with a mean width of 14 miles. The surface is very moun- 
tainous ; several lofty ridges of the Alleghany chain pass through 
the county, and much of the scenery is wild. In the mountain 
valleys, and the low grounds of the streams, the land is very fer- 
tile. The New River, one of the main branches of the Kanawha, 
passes through and fertilizes a large tract in the county. Pop., 
whites 4,684, slaves 574, free colored 49 ; total, 5,,S07. 

Parisburg, or Giles C. H,, lies 238 miles southwesterly from 
Richmond, three-fourths of a mile from the bank of New River, 
just above where it passes through Peter's mountain. The situa- 
tion of the town is picturesque, being at the extremity of a moun- 
tain called " Angel's Rest." It was laid off in 180G, and contains 
at present about 30 dwellings, mostly built of stone. Nine miles 
from Parisburg, on New River, are situated the Hygeian Springs, 
the waters of which are highly spoken of 

On the opposite bank of New River, both above and below 
the springs, the rocks present the most majestic appearance : there 
being several natural pillars that rise perpendicularly to the height 
of from thirty to two hundred feet, and natural arches ; one pillar 
is denominated " Pompey's Pillar," near which is " Caesar's Arch ;" 
the pillar and arch nearly join. 

The celebrated Salt Pond is five miles from these springs — sometimes known as the 
White Sulphur Springs of Giles — and ten miles e. of Parisburg. It is a natural and 
beautiful lake of pure /res A water, on the summit of the Salt Pond mountain, one of 
the highest spurs of the Alleghany. This pond is about a mile long and one-third of a 
mile wide. At its termination it is dammed by a huge pile of rocks, over which it runs: 
but which once passed through the fissures only. In the spring and summer of 1804, 
immense quantities of leaves and other rubbish washed in and filled up the fissures, since 
which it has risen full 2.'> feet. Previous to that time it was fed by a fine large spring 
at its head ; that then disappeared, and several small springs novi' flow into it at its up- 
per end. When first known, it was the resort of vast numbers of elk, buffalo, deer, and 
other wild animals, for drink ; hence its name of " salt pond." It has no taste of salt, 
and is inhabited by fine trout. 

The above description of the Salt Pond is from the mss. for the 
2d edition of Kercheval's History of the Valley of Virginia. From 
the same source we derive the annexed particulars of an Indian 
incursion into this region, and of the captivity of Mrs. Hall : 

In the year 1774 the Indians commenced their outrages in the vicinity of Sinking 
Creek, on the New River, in Giles county. In July of this year John Lybrook, (now 
living, 1836,) with several other children, while at play near the stream were discovered 
by four Indians. One ahead of his party pursued young Lybrook, who escaped by jump- 
ing a gully twelve feet wide. The rest of the children sprang into a canoe and were 
followed by tlie Indians, who killed and scalped five of them. A sister of Lybrook, a 
girl of thirteen, jumped out of the canoe and ran, pursued by one of the Indians. Her 
life was saved by a remarkably fierce dog, who, attracted by her screams, jumped upon 
the savage and threw him down, hung and jerked violently upon him while the girl got 
out of danger. The Indian struck at him with his war club, and finally knocked him 
down ; the dog then ran to the canoe and guarded the dead children until the people took 
them away for burial. The animal refused to follow them — immediately ran oft', and 
soon raised a most piteous howl. This attracted some of the party to the spot, who 
found a little brother of Mr. Lybrook, aged about 6 years, with his scull severely frac- 
tured and his brains oozing out, and scalped. He lived about 24 hours and then ex- 
pired. 

Mrs. Margaret Hall, now living, when about 10 years old was taken prisoner by the 
Indians oa New River and conveyed to their towns, with whom she remained 18 years, 



GILES COUNTY. 279 

until after Waiime's victory. The Shawnese, by whom she was taken, transferred her 
to the Delaware tribe, where she was adopted into the family of an Indian chief. The 
Indians were somewhat civilized. In this respect the Shawnese were superior to the 
Delawares. The Indians had a few cattle, and made butter, fritters, and pancakes. 
Shortly before Mrs. Hall returned home an Indian chief fell violently in love with her, 
and urged his suit, and upon her refusal to marry him threatened to kill her. Her 
foster-mother used her persuasions in his favor, and the young squaws presented their con- 
gratulations upon the offer. Annoyed by his solicitations she fled early one morning, 
on horseback, to a village about 70 miles distant, where her foster-sister and brother had 
removed. She arrived about sunset, and found her foster-brother absent. There she 
was pursued by the young warrior, who told her she must immediately consent to marry 
him or he would take her life. She refused, and he made a lunge at her with a long 
knife ; at which her foster-sister threw herself between them and received a slight wound 
in the side, the point of the knife striking a rib. The Indian girl instantly seized the 
knife by the blade, wrenched it from him, broke it, and threw it away. A fight ensued, 
while the subject of it sat petrified with fear. Her sister bade her run and hide, as he 
would probably kill them both. The girl proved the conqueror, gave him a severe drub- 
bing, and drove him from the field. Her foster-brother, on returning home from a hunt- 
ing excursion, told her not to be uneasy, called him a dog, and threatened to kill him if 
he made any further attempts. The fellow never annoyed her again, and was subse- 
quently killed at Wayne's victory. Mrs. Hall is now living in Giles county, about 4 
miles from the Troy Sulphur Springs. 



The following account of " the Lucas family, ^^ was written by a 
gentleman of Christiansburg, and published in the Richmond Com- 
piler in the summer of 1842. It shows in this family a depth of 
depravity rarely equalled : 

The scene of the lives and depredations of this notorious family is in Giles county, on 
Doe Creek, a small branch of New River which heads in the celebrated salt pond moun 
tain, and from its obscurity and loneliness, and the character of its inhabitants, has al- 
ways been avoided by civilized man. 

The father of Lucas is now about 93 years of age, and is, no doubt, a hoary-headed 
old villain, although he has, during a long life, been adroit enough to commit no 
crime of which the law could take cognizance. I will give one trait in the character 
of this old sinner, which will suffice to show what kind of man he is. On the recent 
trial of his son " Dave," when his life was in jeopardy, this old man, on being asked 
what was the character of his son David, responded that he believed " Dave would kill 
any rnan for twenty-five cents." 

The first in this family of blood — perhaps unparalleled in civil society — was the first 
eon of " Old Ran," as he is universally called. (His name, perhaps, is Randolph ; but 
I presume he has never seen or heard of the baptismal fount.) Well, this first-born of 
" Old Ran," named "Jerry," as long ago as the late war, became criminally connect- 
ed with a man's wife, who was in the service of his country as a military man at Nor- 
folk. In a week after the man returned home. " Jerry Lucas," at the earnest solicita. 
tion of the fiendish woman, under pretence of friendship, invited him home from mu.ster 
with him. He was afterwards found murdered, behind a log, with about two hundred 
weight of stone upon his body. Lucas confessed that the evening they left the muster- 
ground he beat his victim over the head with a club until he supposed he was dead, and 
went to his house and stayed all night with his wife. To make assurance doubly sure, he 
returned in the morning to see if the man was dead. He found him sitting, leaning 
against a tree, and covered with gore. The poor fellow begged for his life, told Lucas 
to take his wife, and he would leave the country as soon as he was able, and would 
never say any thing about what he had done to him. The savage Lucas was in- 
exorable, murdered, and concealed him. For this murder he was hung at Giles Court 
House, in the fall of 1814. Old Ran, his father, sat under the gallows when he was 
hanging, and amused himself by eating gingerbread. Jerry's paramour escaped punish- 
ment for want of testimony. 

" Dave," the second son of " Old Ran," the most notorious of these villains, com- 
menced his career of crime about 1820, at the age of 19, by stealing a horse, for which 
he was sentenced to the penitentiary for five years, during which time he escaped, in 
company with another convict, to his home, was retaken, and served out his time. 



280 GILES COUNTY. 

Not long after his return home, he robbed a small pedler of all his wares, for which he 
was again sentenced to the penitentiary for three years. At the time of his last con- 
viction, a cousin of Dave's, a lad of sixteen or seventeen years of age, was convicted 
of some crime and also sent to the penitentiary for three years. They were discharged 
at the same time, and left the penitentiary together. The boy has never been heard of 
since ; and Lucas, in some of his drunken frolics, boasted that as they came on home, he 
killed the boy and threw his body into the river. He told the boy's father, that when 
he ran his knife into him, he bawled like a calf. So it seems he murdered the boy for 
the wretched pittance given him on leaving the penitentiary to defray his expenses home. 
On the night Dave returned last from the penitentiary, a large stack-yard, and a barn 
full of grain, were burnt in his neighborhood, belonging to witnesses on behalf of the 
commonwealth in his several convictions, which he subsequently admitted were set on 
fire by him. Dave's next exploit was at a militia-muster, in September, 1841. In a 
quarrel and fight with his sister's son, he killed him with a blow. He was acquitted, 
on trial, owing to some extenuating circumstances. Since his recent confinement, he 
has admitted he ought to have been punished for this murder, as he had, at the time 
he struck the blow, a pound of lead concealed in his hand. 

The next crime of which Dave is accused, is founded on the following strong circum- 
stances : Some years ago, a man who had been on north with a drove of cattle, merely 
as a driver, was returning home through Dave's neighborhood", on foot. Shortly after 
he passed, Lucas was seen to follow him with a rifle, and in a few minutes a report of a 
gun was heard in that direction. Dave returned with blood on his clothes, and there 
was seen, on the same day, a large quantity of blood in tlie road. But, as the drover 
was an entire stranger, no investigation was had. Very recently a man's dog, in the 
vicinity, came to his master with a human skull in his mouth. 

Dave's last crime, and for which the world has been freed from' the monster, was the- 
murder of John PofF, a poor laborer, who had been working at the Kanawha salt-works 
a few months, and who, with the proceeds of his labor in his wallet, was travelling alone^ 
and on foot, to his family and home in Floyd county. Dave fell fn with him late irt 
the day, and invited him to go home with him, saying he could entertain bim as well as 
any one. Poor PofF consented, and soon met his fate. 

Dave killed him within 200 yards of his residence, and so obscure is the place, that he 
lay nearly a week above ground without discovery ; and what was certainly a strange 
infatuation, apparently no pains or care was taken to conceal the foul deed. He was 
tried, and found guilty by the jury in 15 minutes from their retirement from the court- 
room. There were 17 witnesses on the part of the commonwealth. The criminal had 
no witness, and refused to employ counsel. The court assigned him counsel, but his 
case was so plain and flagrant that the counsel submitted it to the jury without argu- 
ment. He was sentenced, and hung, at Giles Court-House, Friday, June 24th, 1842. 
The wretched man died as he had lived, without any outward signs of compunction. He 
made no particular confession when under the gallows ; on the contrary, swore when 
in this awful situation, in answer to something said by one of the attending clergy ; and 
finally, while the sheriff was adjusting the rope around his neck, attempted to bite his 
ear. He met death with such a demoniac grin, that among the many thousands present 
not one tear of sorrow or sympathetic feeling was manifested. 

The next on the list of this family of criminals is John Lucas, " Old Ran's" third son. 
He also has killed his man, and his full cousin too ; for it seems they are like old Cain, 
their hands appear to be raised against their own kin. John and his cousin engaged in 
a fight, caused by the cousin tauntingly saying, " Your brother Dave is in the peniten- 
tiary," which so enraged John that he struck him a blow with his heavy rifle, with so 
much force as to cleave his skull to the very teeth, breaking stock and barrel off in the 
middle, and causing instant death. Dave being, in part, cause of this quarrel and its 
disastrous consequences to John, perhaps accounts for the recklessness of his behavior on 
heav-ing of Dave's final fate, and may have been strong in his mind when he made the 
observation, " that it would have been to the credit of the family if Dave had been hung 
many years ago." 

John was tried for his life ; but as the murder occurred, on the part of the murdered 
man, under aggravating circumstances, John was sent to the penitentiary. He is a very 
good /oc simile of the Lucas family. They are truly a savage-looking race. There 
are yet two brothers, younger than those already mentioned, who have not yet rendered 
themselves so conspicuous in the annals of crime. What their fate will be time only 
can tell. They promise fair to be genuine chips of the old block, and although young, 
are already the terror of the neighborhood. " Old Ran" has also daughters, for these 



GLOUCESTER COUNTY". 281 

ill weeds are very prolific ; but they are worse than the sons — save the mark — and there- 
by hangs a tale. But it is a tale not meet to be told among Christians, and we pass it 
over. 



GLOUCESTER. 

Gloucester was formed in 1642, from York. It lies on Chesa- 
peake Bay, and on the n. side of York River. Much barley was 
formerly raised in the county ; but, from some unknown cause, the 
lands have ceased to be adapted for its cultivation. Indian corn 
is the principal product. Pop., whites 4,412, slaves 5,791, free 
colored 612 ; total 10,715. 

Gloucester, the county-seat, lies immediately opposite Yorktown, 
on the N. side of York River. It is a small, decayed village, con- 
taining only a few dwellings. During the siege of York, it was 
one of the outposts of Cornwallis, and the scene of some minor 
military operations. There exist remains of redoubts thrown up 
at that time. The earliest settlers in the co. were from Gloucester- 
shire in England — who not only transferred the names of places, 
but the streams also ; hence they have here their Severn, and other 
rivers, and local denominations. 

Rosewell, the seat of John Page, Esq., governor of Va. in 1802, 
is on the York, nearly opposite the mouth of Queen's creek. It is 
perhaps the noblest old mansion in the state, and is a most venera- 
ble relic of antiquity. It is a cube of 90 feet, is four stories high, 
and its appearance strikingly massive. The roof is flat, and lead- 
ed. " It has been said that Mr. Jefferson and Gov. Page, in the 
summer evenings, sometimes enjoyed conversation and the moon- 
light scene there. From the top of Rosewell house, the view 
stretches nearly ten miles up and down the river York, which is 
there about three miles wide — a superb and lovely sheet of water, 
as bright, as pure, and as sparkling blue as the waters of the 
ocean. Before the house spreads a fair lawn — around the house 
are a few trees : this enhances its simple grandeur, standing, as it 
were, in the dignified solitude of some antique castle." Gov. Page 
was distinguished for his talents and patriotism, and fulfilled his 
numerous trusts, as governor of the state, representative in Con- 
gress, &c., with honor. He died at Richmond, Oct. 11th, 1808, in 
the 65th year of his age. 

Gloucester has connected with its early history some most inter- 
esting facts. Nathaniel Bacon, the leader of what has been de- 
nominated " Bacon's Rebellion," died and was buried in this county. 
The spot is not known, inasmuch as, in the language of a writer 
(T. M.) of that day, his body " was so made away as his bones 
were never found, to be exposed on a gibbet as was purposed — 
stones being laid on his coffin — supposed to be done by Laurence." 

In a late number of the Southern Literary Messenger, Charles 

36 



282 GLOUCESTER COUNTY. 

Campbell, Esq., of Petersburg, has an article conclusively proving 
that it was in this county that Pocahontas rescued Capt. Smith. 
Beneath is an extract from his communication touching this point : 

Next to Jamestown, Werowocomoco is perhaps the spot most celebrated in the early- 
chronicles of Virginia. As Jamestown was the seat of the English settlers, so Wero- 
wocomoco was the residence of the great Indian chief, Powhatan. It was the scene of 
many interviews and rencontres between the settlers and the savages. It was at Wero- 
wocomoco that supplies for the colony were frequently obtained ; here that Smith once 
saw suspended on a line between two trees, the scalps of 24 Payanketanks, recently 
slain ; here that Powhatan was crowned by Newport ; and here that occun-ed the most 
touching scene in the whole colonial drama — the rescue of Smith by Pocahontas. We- 
rowocomoco is on the York River, in the county of Gloucester. It may surprise some 
readers to hear, that the rescue of Smith took place on the York, since, in the general 
neglect of our early history, it seems to have been taken for granted by many that it took 
place on James River. Smith and Stith, in their histories, put the matter beyond dis- 
pute. Smith, Book II., p. 117, describes the Pamaunkee [now York] River, as fol- 
lows : 

" Fourteen myles northward from the river Powhatan is the river Pamaunkee, which is navigable 60 
or 70 myles, but with catches and small barkes 30 or 40 myles farther. At the ordinary flowing of the 
salt water, it divideth itselfe into two gallant branches. On the south side inhabit the people of Yough- 
tanund, who have about 60 men for warres. On the north branch Mattapanient, who have 30 men. 
Where this river is divided, the country is called Pamaunkee, [now West Point,] and nourisheth neare 
300 able men. About 25 myles lower, on the north side of this river, is Werowocomoco, where their great 
king inhabited when I was delivered him prisoner." 

Again, Book II., p. 142, Smith says : 

" At Werowocomoco, on the north side of the river Pamaunkee, [York,J was his [Powhatan's] resi- 
dence when I was delivered him prisoner, some 14 myles from James Towne where, for the most part, 
he was resident." 

Stith, as quoted by Burk's History of Virginia, Vol. I., p. Ill, describes its position as 
follows : 

" Werowocomoco lay on the north side of York river, in Gloucester county, nearly opposite to the 
mouth of Queen's creek, and about 25 miles below the fork of the river." 

Upon a short visit made to that part of Gloucester county a year or two ago, I was 
satisfied that Shelly, the seat of Mrs. Mann Page, is the famous Werowocomoco. 
Shelly is on the north bank of the York River, in the county of Gloucester, said to be 
about 25 miles from West Point at the head of the river, and is nearly opposite the mouth 
of Queen's creek, lying somewhat above. It is true the word " nearly" is indefinite, 
and it might be supposed that Werowocomoco, perhaps, lay a little below the point 
opposite the mouth of Queen's creek instead of a little above. But the marshy, oozy 
character of the bank of the York below Shelly, rendering it apparently uninhabitable, 
seems to forbid the supposition. Werowocomoco, then, it may be taken for granted, was 
either at Shelly, or at some point above Shelly. But as Shelly is nearly opposite the 
mouth of Queen's creek, it is obvious that the further you proceed up the river, the less 
appropriate will become the expression " nearly opposite." 

Carter's creek, emptying into the York at Shelly, forms a safe harbor for canoes. 
Smith, in a passage already quoted, mentions that Werowocomoco is 14 miles from 
Jamestown. In Book III., p. 194, he says, that " he went over land to Werowocomoco 
some 12 miles ; there he passed the river of Pamaunkee in a salvage canow." Now, 
a3 it was 14 miles from Jamestown to Werowocomoco, and 12 to the point on the south 
bank of the York where Smith embarked in a canoe, it follows that Werowocomoco was 
only two miles from that point ; and Shelly, I take it, is just about two miles from where 
it is probable Smith went into the canoe on that occasion. 

Shelly adjoins Rosewell, (formerly the seat of John Page, Esq., sometime governor 
of Virginia,) and was originally part of the Rosewell plantation ; and I learned from 
Mrs. Page, of Shelly, that Gov. Page always held Shelly to be the ancient Werowoco- 
moco, and accordingly he, at first, gave it that name, but afterwards, on account of the 
inconvenient length of the word, dropped it, and adopted the title of Shelly, on account 
of the extraordinary accumulation of shells found there. The enormous beds of oyster- 
shells deposited there, particularly just in front of the Shelly-house, indicate it to have 
been a place of great resort among the natives. The situation is highly picturesque and 
beautiful ; and looking, as it does, on the lovely and majestic York, it would seem, of 
all others, to have been the befitting residence of the lordly Powhatan. 



GOOCHLAND COUNTY. 283 

Charles Mynn Thruston, who was born in this county in 1738, was a descendant 
of the old English cavaliers ; and his ancestors were among the first settlers of 
Gloucester. Mr. Thruston was educated at William and Mary. When 20 years of 
»age, he acted as a lieutenant of provincials, in the campaign which resulted in the 
evacuation of Fort Duquesue. He afterwards studied for the ministry, and was chosen 
rector of a parish in his native county. In 1769 he removed to Frederick county, where 
he continued in the practice of his profession until the commencement of hostilities with 
the mother country. He had been among the most prominent in repelling the attempt 
to introduce the Stamp Act in Virginia, and he now embarked in the common cause 
with an unconquerable zeal. He exerted himself to procure arms and ammunition, and 
addressed the people at public gatherings by the most spirit-stirring and eloquent ha- 
rangues. Not content with this, parson Thruston threw aside the gown, and seizing 
the sword, raised a volunteer company, composed of the elite of the young men of the 
county ; and he being chosen captain, they marched to join Washington in New Jersey. 
He made a bold and vigorous attack on a strong Hessian picket near Amboy. In this 
action his arm was shattered by a musket-ball, and he was carried, fainting with the 
loss of blood, from the field. He was afterwards promoted to the rank of colonel ; but 
as the regiment to which he was appointed could not be raised, he became a supernu- 
merary, and was obliged to retire from the service. He never resumed his pastoral func- 
tions. He held various public offices, among which was that of presiding judge of the 
court of Frederick county, and member of the legislature. In 1809, the wants of a nu- 
merous family occasioned him to remove to the west, where he died in 1812, aged 73. 
The battle of New Orleans was fought upon the place of his burial. The ruthless in- 
vader perished upon the tomb of the soldier-parson, who had employed tongue, pen, and 
sword iu the cause of American freedom, and perilled fortune and life under the star- 
spangled banner. The venerable Judge Thruston, of Washington, over whose head the 
snows of 80 winters have passed, and left an intellect unscathed and vigorous, is a son 
of the warrior-parson of Gloucester. 



GOOCHLAND. 

Goochland was formed in 1727, from Henrico, and named from 
a colonial governor of Virginia. It lies on the north side of James 
River, and is 30 miles long, with an average width of 10 miles. 
The surface is undulating, and in some places broken ; the soil is 
various, and much of it exhausted, though naturally good ; that 
on the James is of great fertility. It is drained by several small 
streams, several of which afford water-power. 

The county produces large crops of tobacco, corn, and oats. 
Bituminous coal of an excellent quality is extensively mined, and 
also small quantities of gold. Pop., whites 3,570, slaves 5,500, 
free colored 690 ; total 9,760. 

There are no villages in the county of any note. The Court- 
House, which is 30 miles west of Richmond, and 1 mile n. of James 
River, contains a few dwellings only. 

Gen. Nathaniel Massie, one of the early pioneers of Kentucky, 
and a man of indefatigable energy, was a native of this county. 
He was at the head of a band of adventurous spirits who formed, 
in 1791, the earliest settlement in the Virginia military district, and 
the fourth in Ohio, at what is now the town of Manchester. 

The late Gov. James Pleasants, who died in this county in 1836, 
was a man highly valued both in public and private life. 



284 GREENBRIER COUNTY. 



GRAYSON. 

Grayson was formed in 1793, from Wythe, and named after a 
distinguished member of the Virginia convention that ratified the 
federal constitution. This is a wild and thinly-settled mountainous 
tract, lying on the North Carolina line, at the southeastern corner 
of western Virginia. It is drained by the New River and its 
branches. Its limits were reduced in 1842 by the formation of 
Carrol county. Pop. in 1840, whites 8,542, slaves 492, free colored 
53 ; total, 9,087. 

Grayson C. H. lies 261 miles sw. of Richmond, and contains a 
few dwellings only. 



GREENBRIER. 

Greenbrier was formed in 1777, from Botetourt and Montgomery, 
and named from its principal stream. Its mean length is 46 miles, 
mean breadth 32^, and area 1409 square miles. The surface is 
broken, and part of it mountainous. The mountains are infested 
with reptiles, such as the rattlesnake, copperhead, blacksnake, &c. ; 
there are some deer, wild turkeys, pheasants, wolves, wild-cats, 
panthers, bears, and a variety of small game. The horses raised 
in this region are distinguished for durability. The land on Green- 
brier River, which runs centrally through the county, is very fer- 
tile ; the mean elevation of the farms above the ocean is at least 
1,500 feet. There was manufactured in this county in 1840, 
114,932 pounds of maple sugar. Pop., whites 7,287, slaves 1,214, 
free colored 194; total, 8,695. 

Frankfort, 10 miles ne. of Lew^isburg, contains a Methodist 
church and about 50 dwellings. In March, 1669, Col. John Stu- 
art, Robert McClenachan, Thomas Renick, and Wm. Hamilton, 
settled here. They, as well as all those that immediately followed, 
were from Augusta county. This was the first permanent settle- 
ment in the county. 

Lewisburg, the seat of justice for the county, lies on the James 
River and Kanawha turnpike ; 214 miles west of Richmond, 263 
from Washington ; about 150 from Guyandotte, on the Ohio River, 
9 miles w. of the White Sulphur, and 13 from the Blue Sulphur 
Springs. This town was established by law in October, 1782, and 
the act appointed the following gentlemen trustees, viz. : Samuel 
Lewis, James Reid, Samuel Brown, .Andrew Donnelly, John Stu- 
art, Archer Mathews, Wm. Ward, and Thomas Edgar. It contains 
6 mercantile stores, 1 newspaper printing office, 1 Baptist, 1 Pres- 
byterian, and 1 Methodist church, 1 academy, and a population of 
about 800. It is a flourishing village, the most important in this 
whole region, and the place where the western branch of the court 
of appeals hold their sittings. 



GREENBRIER COUNTY. 285 

Lewisburg stands on the site of the old Savannah Fort, and is 
the place where the army of Gen, Lewis rendezvoused in 1774, pre- 
vious to the battle of Point Pleasant. They constructed the first 
road ever made from here to Point Pleasant on the Ohio, distant 
about 160 miles. The old fort at this place stood about 100 yards 
SE. of the site of the present court-house, on land now (1843) be- 
longing to Mr. Thomas B. Reynold, and the widow of Mr. Wm. 
Mathews. It was erected about the year 1770. 

The first church — a Presbyterian — erected at Lewisburg, was about the year 1795. 
It is a stone edifice, and is now occupied by that denomination. Previously, the same 
society had a log church, about a mile and a half nw. of the village, near the present 
residence of Mr. Chas. Rogers. Their first clergyman was the Rev John M'Cue. There 
were then some Baptists in the county ; their clergyman was the Rev. John Alderson. 
Lewisburg derived its name from the Lewis family. In olden time it was called " the 
Savannah," being a kind of a prairie. 

The following details respecting the early settlement of the 
county, the difficulties with the Indians, &c., are from Stuart's 
" Memoir of the Indian Wars and other Occurrences :" 

About the year 1749, a person, who was a citizen of the county of Frederick, and 
subject to paroxysms of lunacy, when influenced by such fits, usually made excursions 
into the wilderness, and in his rambles westwardly, fell in on the waters of Greenbrier 
River. At that time, the country on the western waters was but little known to the 
English inhabitants of the then colonies of America, being claimed by the French, who 
had commenced settlements on the Ohio and its waters, west of the Alleghany moun- 
tains. The lunatic being surprised to find waters running a difi'erent course from any 
he had before known, returned with the intelligence of his discovery, which did abound 
with game. This soon excited the enterprise of others. Two men from New England, 
of the name of Jacob Marlin and Stephen Sewell, took up a residence upon Greenbrier 
River ; but soon disagreeing in sentiment, a quarrel occasioned their separation, and 
Sewell, for the sake of peace, quit their cabin, and made his abode in a large hollow tree. 
In this situation they were found by the late General Andrew Lewis, in the year 1751. 
Mr. Lewis was appointed agent for a company of grantees, who obtained from the gov- 
ernor and council of Virginia, an order for one hundred thousand acres of land lying on 
the waters of Greenbrier River ; and did, this year, proceed to make surveys to complete 
the quantity of said granted lands ; and finding Marlin and Sewell living in the neigh- 
borhood of each other, inquired what could induce them to live separate in a wilderness 
so distant from the habitations of any other human beings. They informed him that 
difference of opinion had occasioned their separation, and that they had since enjoyed 
more tranquillity and a better understanding; for Sewell said, that each morning when 
they arose and Marlin came out of the great house and he from his hollow tree, they sa- 
luted each other, saying, Good-morning, Mr. Marlin, and Good-morning, Mr. Sewell, so 
that a good understanding then existed between them ; but it did not last long, for Sew- 
ell removed about forty miles further west, to a creek that still bears his name. There 
the Indians found him and killed him. 

Previous to the year 1755, Mr. Lewis had completed for the grantees, under the order 
of council, upwards of fifty thousand acres ; — and the war then commencing between 
England and France, nothing further was done in the business until the year 1761, when 
his majesty issued his proclamation commanding all his subjects within the bounds of 
the colony of Virginia, who were living, or who had made settlements on the western 
waters, to remove from them, as the lands were claimed by the Indians, and good policy 
required that a peaceable understanding should be preserved with them, to prevent hos- 
tilities on their part. The order of council was never afterwards carried into eiFect, or 
his majesty's consent obtained to confirm it. 

At the commencement of the revolution, when the state of Virginia began to assume 
independence, and held a convention in 1776, some efforts were made to have the order 
of council established under the new order of things then beginning to take place. But 
it was not confirmed ; and commissioners were appointed, in 1777, to grant certificatea 
to each individual who had made settlements on the western waters, in the state of 



286 GREENBBIER COUNTY. 

Virginia, previous to the year 1768 and since, with preference according to the time of 
improvements ; which certificates gave the holder a right to four hundred acres for his 
settlement claim, and the pre-emption of one thousand more, if so much were found 
clear of prior claims, and the holder chose to accept it. The following year, 1778, 
Greenbrier was separated from Botetourt county, and the county took its name from the 
river, which was so named by old Colonel John Lewis, father to the late General, and 
one of the grantees under the order of council, who, in company with his son Andrew, 
exploring the country in 1751, entangled himself in a bunch of green briers on the river, 
and declared he would ever after call the river Greenbrier River. 

After peace was confirmed between England and France, in the year 1761, the In- 
dians commenced hostilities, in 1763, when all the inhabitants in Greenbrier were totally 
cut off by a party of Indians, headed by the Cornstalk warrior. The chief settlements 
were on Muddy creek. These Indians, in number about sixty, introduced themselves 
into the people's houses under the mask of friendship, and every civility was offered them 
by the people, providing them victuals and accommodations for their entertainment, 
when, on a sudden, they killed the men, and made prisoners of the women and chil- 
dren. From thence they passed over into the Levels, where some families were collected 
■at the house of Archibald Clendenin, (where the Hon. Balard Smith now hves.) There 
were between fifty and one hundred persons, men, women, and children. There the 
Indians were entertained, as at Muddy creek, in the most hospitable manner. Clendenin 
having just arrived from a hunt, with three fat elks, they were plentifully feasted. In 
the mean time, an old woman, with a sore leg, was showing her distress to an Indian, 
and inquiring if he could administer to her relief; he said he thought he could ; and 
drawing his tomahawk, instantly killed her and all the men almost, that were iu the 
house. Conrad Yolkom only escaped, by being some distance from the house, when the 
outcries of the women and children alarmed him. He fled to Jackson's River and 
alarmed the people, who were unwilling to believe him, until the approach of the Indians 
convinced them. All fled before them ; and they pursued on to Carr's creek, in Rock- 
bridge county, where many families were killed and taken by them. At Clendenin's a 
scene of much cruelty was performed ; and a negro woman, who was endeavoring to 
escape, killed her own child, who was pursuing her crying, lest she might be discovered 
by its cries. Mrs. Clendenin did not fail to abuse the Indians with terms of reproach, 
calling them cowards, «&c., although the tomahawk was drawn over her head, with 
threats of instant death, and the scalp of her husband lashed about her jaws. The 
prisoners were all taken over to Muddy creek, and a party of Indians retained them 
there till the return of the others from Carr's creek, when the whole were taken off 
together. On the day they started from the foot of Keeney's Knob, going over the 
mountain, Mrs. Clendenin gave her infant child to a prisoner woman to carry, as the 
prisoners were in the centre of the line, with the Indians in front and rear, and she 
escaped into a thicket, and concealed herself until they all passed by. The cries of the 
child soon made the Indians inquire for the mother, who was missing ; and one of them 
said he would soon bring the cow to her calf. Taking the child by the heels he beat its 
brains out against a tree, and throwing it down in the path, all marched over it, till its 
guts were all trampled out with the horses. She told me she returned that night, in the 
dark, to her own house, a distance of more than ten miles, and covered her husband's 
corpse with rails, which lay in the yard, where he was killed in endeavoring to escape 
over the fence, with one of his children in his arms ; and then she went into a corn-field, 
where great fear came upon her, and she imagined she saw a man standing by her, 
within a few steps. The Indians continued the war till 1764, and with much depre- 
dation on the frontier inhabitants, making incursions as far as within a few miles of 
Staunton. 

An end was put to the war in the fall of that year by the treaty 
which Col. Boquet held with the Indians, near Muskingum. In 
the spring of 1774, another Indian war — known as Dunmore's war 
— broke out. In the fall of that year, a portion of the army under 
Gen. Lewis, destined to act against the Indians, assembled at Camp 
Union, (now Lewisburg,) and from thence marched on through the 
wilderness to the mouth of the Great Kanawha, where they met 
and defeated the Indians under their famous leader, the brave and 
generous Cornstalk. For an account of this action, the battle of 
Point Pleasant, see Mason county. 



GREENBRIER COUNTY. 287 

In 1778, an attack was made by about 200 Indians, upon Don- 
nally's Fort. This fort stood about 100 yards e. of the present 
residence of Mr. Anthony Rader, on Rader's run, 10 miles n. of 
Lewisburg. It was a double log-house, with a chimney in the 
centre, and was surrounded by a stockade of split logs. The house 
was destroyed about the year 1825, at which time many bullets 
were found in the timbers. Dick Pointer, the old negro who acted 
so gallantly in its defence, died only a few years since. The state 
had purchased his freedom in reward for his services. He was 
buried with the honors of war. The account of the attack on 
Donnally's Fort is here given from the memoir of Mr. Stuart : 

Intelligence having been conveyed to Col. Donnally of the approach of the Indians, 
he lost no time to collect in all his nearest neighbors that night, and sent a servant to 
my house to inform me. Before day about twenty men, including Hammond and Prior, 
were collected at Donnally's, and they had the advantage of a stockade fort around and 
adjoining the house. There was a number of women and children, making in all about 
sixty persons in the house. On the next day they kept a good look-out, in momentary 
expectation of the enemy. 

Colonel Samuel Lewis was at my house when Donnally's servant came with the intel- 
ligence ; and we lost no time in alarming the people, and to collect as many men for 
defence as we could get at Camp Union all the next day. But all were busy ; some fly- 
ing with their families to the inward settlements, and others securing their property, so 
that in the course of the day, we had not collected near one hundred men. On the fol- 
lowing day we sent out two scouts to Donnally's, very early in the morning, who soon 
returned with intelligence that the fort was attacked. The scouts had got within one 
mile, and heard the guns firing briskly. We determined to give all the aid we could to 
the besieged, and every man who was willing to go was paraded. They amounted to 
sixty-eight in all, including Colonel Lewis, Captain Arbuckle, and myself. We drew 
near Donnally's house about two o'clock, P. M., but heard no firing. For the sake of 
expedition we had left the road for a nearer way, which led to the back side of the house, 
and thus escaped falling into an ambuscade, placed on the road some distance from the 
house, which might have been fatal to us, being greatly inferior to the enemy in num- 
bers. We soon discovered Indians, behind trees in a rye-field, looking earnestly at the 
house. Charles GatlifF and I fired upon them, when we saw others running in the rye, 
near where they stood. We all ran directly to the fort. The people, on hearing the 
guns on the back side of the house, supposed that it was another party of Indians, and 
all were at the port-holes ready to fire upon us ; but some discovering that we were their 
friends, opened the gate, and we all got in safe. One man only was shot through his 
clot lies. 

When we got into the fort, we found that there were only four men killed. Two of 
them who were coming to the fort, fell into the midst of the Indians, and were killed. 
A servant of Donnally's was killed early in the morning on the first attack ; and one 
man was killed in a bastion in the fort. The Indians had commenced their attack 
about daylight in the morning, when the people were all in bed, except Philip Hammond 
and an old negro. The house formed one part of the fort, and was double, the kitchen 
making one end of the house, and there Hammond and the negro were. A hogshead 
of water was placed against the door. The enemy had laid down their guns at a sta- 
ble, about fifty yards from the house, and made their attacks with tomahawks and war- 
clubs. Hammond and the negro held the door till they were splitting it with their toma- 
hawks : they suddenly let the door open, and Hammond killed the Indian on the 
threshold, who was splitting the door. The negro had a musket charged with swan- 
shot, and was jumping about in the floor asking Hammond where he should shoot ? 
Hammond bade hira fire away among them ; for the yard was crowded as thick as they 
could stand. Dick fired away, and I believe, with good effect ; for a war-club lay in 
the yard with a swan-shot in it. Dick is now upwards of eighty years old, has long 
been abandoned by his master, as also his wife, as aged as himself, and they have made 
out to support their miserable existence, many years past, by their own endeavors. This 
is the negro, to whom our Assembly, at its last session, refused to grant a small pension 
\o support the short remainder of his wretched days, which must soon end, although 
his humble petition was supported by certificates of the most respectable men in th» 



288 GREENBRIER COUNTY. 

county, of his meritorious service on this occasion, which saved the lives of many citi- 
zens then in the house. 

The firing of Hammond and Dials awakened the people in the other end of the house, 
and up stairs, where the chief of the men were lying. They soon fired out of the win- 
dows on the Indians so brislily, that when we got to the fort, seventeen of them lay dead 
in the yard, one of whom was a boy about fifteen or sixteen years old. His body was 
so torn by the bullets that a man might have run his arm through him, yet he lived 
almost all day, and made a most lamentable cry. The Indians called to him to go into 
the house. 

After dark, a fellow drew near to the fort and called out in English that he wanted 
to make peace. We invited him in to consult on the terms, but he declined our civihty. 
They departed that night, after dragging eight of their slain out of the yard ; but we 
never afterwards found where they buried them. They visited Greenbrier but twice 
afterwards, and then in very small parties, one of which killed a man and his wife, of 
the name of Munday, and wounded Capt. Samuel McClung. The last person killed 
was Thomas Griffith ; his son was taken, but going down the Kenawha, they were 
pursued, one of the Indians was killed, and the boy was relieved, which ended our wars 
in Greenbrier with the Indians, in the year 1780. 



The White Sulphur Spring of Greenbrier, the most celebrated 
of all the watering-places of Virginia, is 9 miles easterly from 
Lewisburg, about 170 from the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, 242 
sw. of Washington City, and 205 w. of Richmond. It is thus 
described by a late visitor : 

The White Sulphur Spring is situated some 6 or 8 miles from the height of the 
Alleghany, on the western declivity, in an extensive valley beautifully embosomed with 
hills and mountains. It was known to the Indians as one of the most important licks 
of the deer and the elk. As early as 1772, a woman was brought here on a litter 40 
miles, whose disease had baffled all medical skill. A tree was felled, and a trough dug 
and filled with the mineral water, which was heated by putting hot stones into it. In 
this the patient was bathed, while, at the same time, she drank freely of the fountain. 
In a few weeks she went from her bark cabin perfectly restored. The fame of this cure 
attracted many sick persons to the spring, and they soon commenced throwing up rude 
log cabins. But the dreariness of the mountains, the badness of the roads, and the 
poverty of the accommodations, repelled all but the desperate from these health-giving 
waters till 1818, when they fell into the hands of Mr. Calwell, the present enterprising 
owner. From that time the place has continued rapidly to improve. Mr. Calwell's 
estate includes from ten to twelve thousand acres, much of which is fine interval soil. 
All the buildings, for one or two miles around the spring, belong to him. Nature has 
done every thing to make this an enchanting spot. The valley opens about half a mile 
in breadth, winding in length from east to west, with graceful undulations, beyond the 
eye's reach. The fountain issues from the foot of a gentle slope, terminating in the low 
interval upon a small and beautiful river. The ground ascends from the spring east- 
ward, rising to a considerable eminence on the left, and spreading east and south into a 
wide and beautiful lawn. The lawn and walks cover perhaps fifty acres. A few rods 
from the spring, at the right, are the hotel, the dining-hall, the ball-room : all the rest of 
the ground is occupied mainly with cabins. These are rows of contiguous buildings, one 
story high, mostly of wood, some of brick, and a few of hewed logs white-washed. 
The framed cabins are all painted white. Directly to the right of the spring, and very 
near it, is Spring row ; further eastward, with a continuous piazza shaded with vines, is 
Virginia row ; at right-angles with this, crossing the lawn in the middle, is South Caro- 
lina row ; heading the eastern extremity of the lawn is Bachelor's row ; on the north 
side of the lawn, beginning nearest the spring, are Alabama, Louisiana, Paradise, and 
Baltimore rows — the last of which is the most elegant in the place. Without the enclo- 
sure, southward from the fountain, is Broadway ; and a little west from this, on the 
Guyandot road, is Wolf row. The appearance of these cabins, painted, decorated, 
looking forth from the green foliage, and tastefully arranged, is beiautiful and imposing. 

I have an analysis of the spring by Professor Rogers, the distinguished state geolo- 
gist, but am not permitted to communicate the proportions, as he wishes to reserve that 
fraction of interest for his forthcoming work. The solid matter procured by evaporation 
from 100 cubic inches, weighs 63.54 grains, composed of sulphate of lim*, sulphate of 




L 



GREEXSVILLE COUNTY. 289 

magnesia, sulphate of soda, carbonate of lime, carbonate of magnesia, chloride of mag- 
nesium, chloride of sodium, chloride of calcium, peroxide of iron, phosphate of lime, sul- 
phate and hydrate of sodium, organic matter, precipitated sulphur, iodine. The gaseous 
matter consists of sulphurated hydrogen, carbonic acid, nitrogen, and oxygen. It is 
obvious, from this analysis, that the water must exert a very positive agency upon the 
system. Its remedial virtues extend chiefly to diseases of the liver, kidneys, alimentary 
canal, and to scrofula, rheumatism, and neuralgia. 

The fountain is covered with a stately Doric dome, sustained by twelve large pillars, 
and surmounted with a colossal statue of Hygeia, looking towards the rising sun. 



The Blue Sulphur Spring, in this county, is also quite popu- 
lar. The improvements are extensive, and the location one of 
much natural beauty. The water tastes like that of the White 
Sulphur. Subjoined is the analysis : 

Analysis. — Solid ingredients in the Blue Sulphur Water. — Sulphate of lime ; sul- 
phate of magnesia ; sulphate of soda ; carbonate of lime ; carbonate of magnesia ; chlo- 
ride of magnesium ; chloride of sodium ; chloride of calcium ; hydro-sulphate of sodium 
and magnesium ; oxide of iron, existing as proto-sulphate ; iodine, sulphur, organic mat- 
ters. Gaseous ingredients. — Sulphurated hydrogen ; carbonic acid ; oxygen ; nitrogen. 

The spring is a very bold one, furnishing fifteen gallons of water to a minute ; there 
is a great deal of red, white, and black, and other deposites from the water. 



GREENE. 

I 

Greene was formed in 1838, from the western part of Orange, 
and named after Gen. Nathaniel Greene, of the revolution. It is 
15 miles long, and 10 wide. The Blue Ridge runs on its western 
line. It is watered by branches of the Rivanna and the Rapid 
Ann. Its surface is mountainous and broken, and the soil in the 
valleys fertile. The principal products are tobacco, Indian corn, 
and wheat. A small quantity of cotton is produced. Population 
in 1840, whites 2,447, slaves 1,740, free colored 45 ; total, 4,232. 

Stanardsville, the county-seat, is in the western part, 95 miles 
northwesterly from Richmond, and 18 miles w. of Orange C. H. 
The village is pleasantly situated, and contains about 35 dwellings. 



GREENSVILLE. 

Greensville was formed in 1784, from Brunswick. It is 28 miles 
long, with a variable breadth of from 8 to 24 miles. The Notto- 
way River runs on its n. boundary, and the Meherrin through it 
centrally. On the first-named stream anciently dwelt the Notto- 
way Indians ; on the last, the Meherrins and Tuteloes, " who were 
connected with the Indians of Carolina, probably with the Chow- 
anocs." Large quantities of cotton are raised in this county. 
Population in 1840, whites 1,928, slaves 4,102, free colored 136; 
total 6,366. 

Hicksford, the county-seat, lies 62 miles south of Richmond, on 

37 



290 HAMPSHIRE COUNTY. 

the line of the great southern rail-road, which here crosses the Me- 
herrin by a bridge 300 feet long, supported by stone piers. Besides 
the public buildings, it contains from 12 to 20 dwellings, and seve- 
ral stores and hotels. 

In the march of Cornwallis into Virginia, after the battle of Guilford Court-House, a 
company of militia under a Captain Robinson were made prisoners on the Meherrin, 
below Hicksford, without firing a shot, by a body of cavalry under Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, 
who had been detached from Petersburg by Arnold, to gain information of Cornwallis. 
The whole party, the captors and captured, repaired to an adjacent tavern, where, in a 
conference among the British officers, it was announced to the prisoners that they were to 
be paroled. " Pray, gentlemen," demanded one of them, in great consternation, " what 
kind of a death is that ?" 



HALIFAX. 

Halifax was formed in 1752, from Lunenburg. Its length is 33 
miles, and mean breadth 23 miles. The Roanoke runs on its n. 
and NE. boundary, and the Dan and its branches flow through it 
centrally. The soil is fertile, and large quantities of excellent to- 
bacco, corn, and oats, are raised. Population in 1840, whites 
11,145, slaves 14,216, free colored 575; total, 25,936. 

Banister, or Halifax C. H., lies 127 miles southwesterly from 
Richmond. It is a long, scattering village, well elevated by a 
gradual ascent of three quarters of a mile from Banister River ; it 
contains a population of about 300. Brooklyn, Meadsville, Scotts- 
burg, and Barksdale, contain each a few dwellings. 



HAMPSHIRE. 

Hampshire was established in 1754, from Frederick and Augusta. 
Its mean length is about 33 miles, and mean breadth 30 miles. 
A large proportion of the county is mountainous, and much of the 
high mountain-land is untillable. The principal streams are the 
South and the North Branch of Potomac, the Potomac, and the 
Great Cacapon. On all of these there are extensive and fertile low 
grounds. Near the Maryland line are immense fields of bitumi- 
nous coal, and deposites of iron ore in various parts of the county. 
Population, whites 10,703, slaves 1,403, free colored 189; total 
12,295. 

Romney, the county-seat, is situated in the heart of the county, 
on the South Branch of Potomac, 188 miles nw. of Richmond, and 
39 miles from Winchester. It is a small village, yet one of con- 
siderable business, and has a branch of the Bank of the Valley, 
several stores, and about 350 inhabitants. It was established by 
law in 1762, and laid off by Lord Fairfax, its founder, into streets 
and half-acre lots. The Parkersburg turnpike passes through it. 



HAMPSHIBE COUNTY. 



291 



Frankfort, Springfield, Cold Stream Mill, and Paddytown, are 
small villages. 




The Ice Mountain. 



The Ice Mountain of Hampshire is one of the greatest natural 
curiosities in Virginia. It rises from the eastern bank of the 
North River, a branch of the Capon, and is distant 26 miles nw. 
from Winchester, and 1 6 miles e. of Romney. It is in height 400 
or 500 feet. 

The west side of the mountain, for about a quarter of a mile, is covered with a mass 
of loose stone of a light color, which reaches down to the bank of the river. This part of 
the mountain is represented in the accompanying engraving. By removing the loose 
stone, pure crystal ice can always be found in the warmest days of summer. It has 
been discovered even as late as the 15th of September ; but never in October, although 
it may exist throughout the entire year, and be found, if the rooks were excavated to a 
sufficient depth. The body of rocks where the ice is found is subject to the full rays of 
the sun from nine o'clock in the morning until sunset. The sun does not have the effect 
of melting the ice as much as continued rains. At the base of the mountain is a spring 
of water colder by many degrees than spring water generally is. " Very near this 
spring," says Kercheval, " the owner of the property has removed the stone, and erected 
a small log dairy, for the preservation of his milk, butter, and fresh meats. When the 
author saw this little building, which was late in the month of April, the openings be- 
tween the logs, (on the side next the cavity from which the stone had been taken out,) 
for eighteen inches or two feet from the floor, were completely filled with ice, and about 
one-half the floor was covered with ice several inches thick. Mr. Deevers, who is the 
owner of the property, informed the author that milk, butter, or fresh meats of every 
kind, are perfectly safe from injury for almost any length of time, in the hottest weather. 
If a fly venture in, he is immediately stiffened with the cold and becomes torpid. If a 
snake in his rambles happens to pass over the rocks covering the ice, he soon loses all 
motion, and dies. Christopher Heiskell, Esq., informed the author that several instances 
had occurred of the snakes being found dead among the rocks covering the ice. An 
intelligent young lady at the same time stated that she had seen instances of this 
character. In truth, it was upon her first suggesting the fact, that the author was led 
to make inquiry of Mr. Heiskell. And Mr. Deevers stated that he had several times 
removed torpid flies from his dairy into a more temperate atmosphere, when they soon 
recovered life and motion, and flew off." 

Mr. C. B. Hayden, in a recent number of Silliman's Journal, 



292 HANOVER COUNTY. 

thus accounts for the phenomenon of the preservation of ice in this 
mountain : 

The solution, I conceive, is to be found in the large and unusual collection of rocks, 
which from their porous homogeneous texture are extremely poor conductors of heat. 
One side of the mountain consists of a massive w^all many hundred feet in thickness, and 
heaped up against this as an abutment, is a mass of rocks containing several thousand 
cubic feet. As the mountain has a general direction from ne. to sw., the talus heap con- 
taining the ice has a nw. exposure. The cavernous nature of this heap would admit the free 
entrance of atmospheric waters, which during the winter would form ice in the interior 
of the mass. The ice thus situated would be protected from external heat by the sur- 
rounding rocks, as ice in a refrigerator is isolated and protected from the external tem- 
perature, by the non-conducting sides of the refrigerator. The Ice Mountain only 
requires for the explanation of its phenomenon, the application of the familiar principle 
upon which is constructed the common refrigerator, which temporarily effects what the 
Ice Mountain permanently does — a temperature independent of external causes. The 
Ice Mountain is, in fact, a huge sandstone refrigerator, whose increased and unusual 
effects beyond those of the ordinary refrigerator, are due to the increased and unusual 
collection of poor conducting materials which form its sides. 

There are several other curiosities of nature in this county. 
They are Gaudy's Castle, the Tea-Table, and the Hanging Rocks. 

Caudy^s Castle was so named from having been the retreat of an early settler when 
pursued by the Indians. It is a fragment of a mountain in the shape of a half cone, 
with a very narrow base, which rises from the banks of the Capon to the height of about 
500 feet, and presents a sublime and majestic appearance. The Tea-Table is about 10 
miles below Gaudy's Castle, in a deep ragged glen, three or four miles east of the Capon. 
This table is of solid rock, and presents the form of a man's hat standing on its crown. 
It is about 4 feet in height and the same in diameter. From the top issues a clear stream 
of water, which flows over the brim on all sides, and forms a fountain of exquisite beauty. 
The Hanging Rocks are about 4 miles north of Romney. There the Wappatomka River 
has cut its way through a mountain of about 500 feet in height. The boldness of the 
rocks, and the wildness of the scene, excite awe in the beholder. 

A bloody battle, says tradition, was once fought at the Hanging Rocks, between con- 
tending parties of the Catawba and Delaware Indians, and it is believed that several 
hundred of the latter were slaughtered. Indeed, the signs now to be seen at this place 
exhibit striking evidences of the fact. There is a row of Indian graves between the rock 
and public road, along the margin of the river, of from 60 to 70 yards in length. It is 
believed that but very few of the Delawares escaped. 



HANOVER. 

Hanover was formed in 1720, from New Kent. Its length is 
45 miles ; main width, 14 miles. It is watered by the Pamunkey, 
the Chickahominy, and their branches. The surface is generally 
level, and the soil of every extreme, from the best river alluvion to 
barren sand. Inexhaustible beds of marl exist in the county, and 
are extensively used in agriculture, now in an improving condition. 
The Fredericksburg and Richmond rail-road runs n. and s. through 
the central part. The Louisa rail-road commences at the " Junc- 
tion" on the line of the above-mentioned rail-road, 24 miles n. of 
Richmond, and runs through the western part of Hanover. Pop., 
whites 6,262, slaves 8,394, free colored 312; total, 14,968. 

Hanover C. H. is 20 miles n. of Richmond. Hanover town, on 
the Pamunkey, in the e. part of the county, was settled before Rich- 



HANOVER COUNTY. 



293 



mond, and anciently called Page's Warehouse. It once had a 
large population, and was a place of considerable business, even 
within the memory of those living. At one time there were 1600 
hogsheads of tobacco annually exported from it. Then the Pa- 
munkey was navigable for sloops and schooners, since which the 
channel has much filled up. When the Assembly of the state 
were agitating the subject of removing the capitol from Williams- 




Birthplace of Henry Clay. 

burg, they came within a few votes of deciding upon Hanover 
Town instead of Richmond. The site is now a cultivated field, 
and shows but a few traces of its having been a town. Newcastle, 
which is 4 or 5 miles lower down on the Pamunkey, was also, at the 
same time, a considerable village. It now consists of a single house. 
It is the spot where Patrick Henry assembled his volunteers at the 
time Dunmore took the gunpowder from the magazine at Wil- 
liamsburg. This section of the county is a beautiful agricultural 
tract, on which there was once much tobacco raised. 

Patrick Henry, Henry Clay, and Col. Baylor, were all natives of Hanover county. 
The latter was at one time aid to Washington. His regiment of light dragoons, 
which were from Virginia, while sleeping in a barn near the line of New Jersey and 
New York, were surprised, Sept. 28th, 1778, and nearly all of them cruelly massacred. 
Col. Baylor was dangerously wounded, and made prisoner. He was noted for his bravery. 
The birthplace of Henry Clay is in a poor piny region, called the Slashes of Hanover, 
about 3 miles from the court-house, on the turnpike to Richmond. 

The Rev. Samuel Davies, " the father* of the Presbyterian church in Virginia," was 

* We take this expression, " father of the Presbyterian church in Virginia," from a 
periodical. Mr. Davies was not so, strictly speaking ; but he did more than any other 
person in disseminating the doctrines of, and making converts to this church, at an early 
day. The father of the Presbyterian church in America was the Rev. Francis Makemie. 
He was a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian, " from the neighborhood of Ramelton, in Donegal, in 
the north of Ireland, and was first introduced to the presbytery in January, 1680." Reid's 
History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, from which the above is derived, also 
says : " He settled in Accomac county, on the eastern shore of Virginia, where he died 
in 1701. He was the first Presbyterian minister who settled in America, and with a 



294 HANOVER COUNTY. 

born in Delaware, in 1724, in humble circumstances. In 1748, he accepted a call from 
the Presbyterians of this neighborhood to settle among them. He gained great credit for his 
knowledge, address, and eloquence, in an argument which he had with Peyton Randolph, 
the king's attorney-general, on the subject of the rights of Protestant dissenters from t'lie 
established church in Virginia. When he went to England in 1753, he obtained from the 
king and council a declaration, under authority, that the provisions of the act of tolera- 
tion did extend to Virginia. The Old Fork Church in which he preached is, or was 
lately, standing on the South Anna Branch, near Ground Squirrel Bridge, in this county. 

The home of Mr. Davies was in this county, about 12 miles from Richmond ; but bis 
occasional labors were greatl}' extended over a considerable part of the colony ; and he 
acquired an influence greater, probably, than any other preacher of the gospel in Virgi- 
nia ever possessed It was the influence of fervent piety and zeal, directed by a mind 
of uncommon compass and force. He took no little pains to instruct the negroes, and 
to this day tlie descendants of his negro converts manifest the happy effects of the pious 
instructions of their parents. 

In 17.53, Mr. Davies accompanied the Rev. Gilbert Tennent on a mission to England, 
to solicit donations for the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, where he met with a 
success that astonished himself. He preached frequently, and with great applause. The 
following anecdote is related of him : The king, (George II.,) being curious to hear a 
preacher from the wilds of America, attended on one occasion, when he was so much 
struck with his commanding eloquence that he expressed his astonishment loud enough 
to be heard half-way over the house. Davies observing that the king was attracting 
more attention than himself, paused, and looking his majesty full in the face, gave him, 
in an emphatic tone, the following rebuke : " When the lion roareth, let the beasts of the 
forest tremble ; and when the Lord speaketh, let the kings of the earth keep silence." 
The king shrank back in his seat and remained quiet during the remainder of his dis- 
course ; and the next day sent for Mr. Davies, and gave liim fifty guineas for the college, 
observing at the same time to his courtiers : " he is an honest man ! an honest man .'" 

Shortly after the return of Mr. Davies, in 1755, the presbytery of Hanover was erected, 
and he was appointed to open the presbytery, which was directed to meet in Hanover, 
on the 3d of December of that year. The limits of the presbytery originally compre- 
hended the whole of Virginia, and a considerable part, if not the whole, of North Caro- 
lina. Through this extensive region there were scattered numerous settlements of Pro- 
testant dissenters, besides many who had originally belonged to the established church,, 
but had chosen to leave it and to join the dissenters. Of this whole dissenting interest, 
Mr. Davies was the animating soul. He made his influence to be felt everywhere ; he 
transfused his own spirit into the bosoms of his associates, and roused them by the force 
of his example. His popularity in Virginia was almost unbounded ; so that he was in- 
vited and urged to preach in almost all the settled portions of the colony. 

But he did not content himself merely with the discharge of pastoral duties. The 
country was alarmed and agitated to the highest degree, by the French and Indian war^ 
At this time he delivered several patriotic sermons, one of which, under the title of 
" Religion and Patriotism the constituents of a good soldier," was addressed in Hanover 
to Capt. Overton's company of independent soldiers. In it he uttered the prophetic re- 
mark respecting Washington. (See p. 99.) On another occasion he preached a ser- 
mon " to the militia of Hanover county, in Virginia, at a general muster, May 8th, 1759, 
with a view to raise a company for Capt. Samuel Meredith." At its close, a company 
was made up in a few minutes, and many more offered their names than the law al- 
lowed. As Mr. Davies left the muster-ground for the tavern, to get his horse, the whole 
corps followed him, pressing around to catch every word that fell from his lips. Ob- 
serving their desire, he again addressed them from the tavern porch until he was ex- 
hausted with speaking. 

The celebrated Patrick Henry has spoken in terms of enthusiasm of Mr. Davies. It 
has been supposed that he first kindled the fire, and afforded the model of Henry's elocu- 
tion, as he lived from his 11th to his 22d year in the neighborhood where the patriotic 
sermons of Mr. Davies were delivered, which produced as powerful effec's as those as- 
cribed to the orations of Demosthenes. 

In 1759, Mr. Davies accepted the appointment of president of New Jersey College, 

few other brethren from Ulster, constituted the first regular presbytery that was organ- 
ized in the new world." Hodge's History of the Presbyterian Church in America, states 
that he settled in Accomac anterior to 1790, when his name first appears upon the 
county records, and that he died in 1708. — H. H. 



' HANOVER COUNTY. 295 

at Princeton. The services he rendered as president of that institution were very im- 
portant. President Davies died on the 4th of February, 1762, having remained in of- 
fice about eighteen months. He was about fourteen years in public life, and died in the 
thirty-seventh year of his age. He possessed the advantages of superior genius ; and 
was much distinguished as a laborious scholar. He dreaded to preach without proper 
preparation. When pressed to speak extemporaneously he sometimes replied : " It is a 
dreadful thing to talk nonsense in the name of the Lord." He declared that " every 
discourse of his which he thought worthy of the name of a sermon, cost him four days 
hard study in the preparation." It was by this combination of talent and diligence that 
he became the most eloquent and accomplished pulpit-orator that our country ever pro- 
duced, and he was more successful as a preacher than almost any other individual of 
his day. Since his death, his sermons have passed through numerous editions, both in 
this country and Britain, and probably there are no sermons in the language more ex- 
tensively read or more deservedly popular.* 



The Marquis de Chastellux, an officer attached to the French 
army in America in the revolutionary war, has in his travels left 
us some interesting notices respecting this county. He says : 

As you approach Newcastle, the country becomes more gay. This little capital of a 
small district contains 25 or 30 houses, some of which are pretty enough. We continued 
our journey to Hanover court-house. We arrived before sunset, and alighted at a tol- 
erably handsome inn ; a very large saloon, and a covered portico, are destined to receive 
the company who assemble every three months at the court-house, either on private or 

public affairs The county of Hanover, as well as that of New Kent, had still reason 

to remember the passage of the English. Mr. Tilghman, our landlord, though he la- 
mented his misfortune in having lodged and boarded Lord Cornwallis and his retinue, 
without his lordship's having made the least recompense, could not yet help laughing at 
the fright which the unexpected arrival of Tarleton spread amongst a considerable num- 
ber of gentlemen, who had come to hear the news, and were assembled in the court- 
house. A negro on horseback came full gallop to let them know that Tarleton was not 
above three miles off. The resolution of retreating was soon taken ; but the alarm was 
so sudden, and the confusion so great, that every one mounted the first horse he could 
find, so that few of those curious gentlemen returned upon their own horses. The Eng- 
lish who came from Westover had passed the Chickahominy at Button's Bridge, and 
directed their march towards the South Anna, which Lafayette had put between them 
and himself. 

The next morning the Marquis left the court-house, and arrived about noon at Offley, 
near the North Anna River, the seat of the then ex-governor Nelson, where he passed 
two or three daysTiTlhe enjoyment of the hospitalities of the family. He eulogizes the 
patriotism and zeal of the governor, whose acquaintance he had made at the siege of 
York, and compliments the beauty, artlessness, and music of the young ladies, describ- 
ing them as " pretty nymphs, more timid and wild than those of Diana." 

The Marquis then goes on to describe the venerable ex-secretary Nelson, the father of 
Gov. Nelson, whose elegant house, being occupied by Lord Cornwallis during the siege 
of York, was at last almost entirely destroyed by the cannon-shot of the Americans. 
The two sons of the secretary were in the American army, and sent a flag to the British 
general requesting permission for their father to leave the town, which request Corn- 
wallis humanely granted. The tranquillity which had succeeded these unhappy times, 
by giving him leisure to reflect upon his losses, had not embittered the recollection. He 
lived happily on his plantation, where in six hours he could assemble seventy of his pos ■ 
terity, all inhabitants of Virginia. 

Patrick Henry, the second son of John and Sarah Henry, and one of nine children, 
was born on the 29th of May, 1736, at the family seat, called Studley, in Hanover 
county. At the age of ten years he was taken from the school where he had learned to 
read and write, and taught Latin by his father, who had opened a grammar-school in 
his own house. At the same time he acquired some proficiency in mathematics. Pas- 
sionately addicted to the sports of the field, he could not brook the toil and confinement 
of study. And the time which should thus have been employed, was often passed in 

* The memoir of President Davies is principally abridged from a biographical sketch in Presideat 
Green's woric on the College of New Jersey. 



296 HANOVER COUNTY. 

the forest with his gun, or over the brook with his angling-rod. " His companions fre- 
quently observed him lying along, under the shade of some tree that overhung the se- 
questered stream, watching for hours, at the same spot, the motionless cork of his fishing- 
line, without one encouraging symptom of success, and without any apparent source of 
enjoyment, unless he could find it in the ease of his position, or in the illusions of hope ; 
or, which is most probable, in the stillness of the scene, or the silent workings of his own 
imagination." This love of solitude in his youth was a marked trait in his character. 



'^c^l^S ^ 








Facsimile of the signature of Patrick Henry. 

The wants of a large family compelled his father to find employment for his sons. 
At the age of fifteen Patrick was put behind the counter of a country merchant, and the 
year following entered into business with his elder brother, William, with whom was to 
devolve its chief management ; but such were his idle habits, that he left the burden of 
the concern to Patrick, who managed wretchedly. The drudgery of business became 
intolerable to him, and then, too, " he could not find it in his heart" to disappoint any 
one who came for credit ; and he was very easily satisfied with apologies for non-pay- 
ment. He sought relief from his cares by having recourse to the violin, flute, and 
reading. An opportunitj' was presented of pursuing his favorite study of the human 
character, and the character of every customer underwent this scrutiny. 

One year put an end to the mercantile concern, and the two or three following Patrick 
was engaged in settling up its affairs. At eighteen years of age he married Miss Shel- 
ton, the daughter of a neighboring farmer of respectability, and commenced cultivating 
a small farm ; but his aversion to systematic labor, and want of skill, compelled him to 
abandon it at the end of two years. Selling off all his little possessions at a sacrifice, he 
again embarked in the hazardous business of merchandise. His old business habits still 
continued, and not unfrequently he shut up his store to indulge in the favorite sports of 
his youth. His reading was of a more serious character; history, ancient and modern, 
he became a proficient in. Livy, however, was his favorite ; and having procured a copy, 
he read it through at least once a year in the early part of his fife. In a few years his 
second mercantile experiment left him a bankrupt, and without any friends enabled to as- 
sist him further. All other means failing, he determined to try the law. His unfortunate 
habits, unsuitable to so laborious a profession, and his pecuniary situation unfitting him 
for an extensive course of reading, led every one to suppose that he would not succeed. 
With only six weeks' study, he obtained a license to practise, he being then twenty-four 
years of age. He was then not only unable to draw a declaration or a plea, but incapa. 
ble, it is said, of the most common and simple business of his profession. It was not 
until his twenty-seventh year, that an opportunity occurred for a trial of his strength at 
the bar. In the mean time the wants and distresses of his family were extreme. They 
lived mostly with his father-in-law, Mr. Shelton, who then kept a tavern at Hanover 
court-house. Whenever Mr. Shelton was from home, Henry took his place in the tavern, 
which is the identical public-house now standing at Hanover court-house. The occa- 
sion on which his genius first broke forth, was the controversy between the clergy and 
the legislature and people of the state, relating to the stipend claimed by the former. 
The cause was popularly known as the parsons' cause. A decision of the court on a de- 
murrer in favor of the claims of the clergy, had left nothing undetermined but the amount 
of damages in the cause which was pending. Soon after the opening of the court, the 
cause was called. The scene which ensued is thus vividly described by Wirt : 

The array before Mr. Henry's eyes was now most fearful. On the bench sat more than twenty clergy- 
men, the most learned men in the colony, and the most capable, as well as the severest critics before 
whom it was possible for him to have made his debut. The court-house was crowded with an over- 
whelming multitude, and surrounded with an immense and anxious throng, who, not finding room to 
enter, were endeavoring to listen without, in the deepest attention. But there was something still more 
awfttUy disconcerting than all this; for in the chair of the presiding magistrate, sat no other person than 
his own father. Mr. Lyons opened the cause very briefly: in the way of argument he did nothing more 
than explain to the jury, that the decision upon the demurrer had put the act of 1750 entirely out of the 
way and left the law of 1748 as the only sUndard of their damages ; he then concluded with a highly- 



HANOVER COUNTY. 297 

wrought eulogium on the benevolence of the clergy. And now came on the first trial of Patrick Henry's 
strength. No one had ever heard him speak, and curiosity was on tiptoe. He rose very awkwardly, and 
faltered much in his exordium. The people hung their heads at so unpromising a commencement ; the 
clergy were observed to exchange sly looks with each other ; and his father is described as having 
almost sunk with confusion from his seat. But these feelings were of short duration, and soon gave 
place to others of a very different character. For now were those wonderful faculties which he possessed 
for the first time developed ; and now was first witnessed that mysterious and almost supernatural trans- 
formation of appearance, which the fire of his own eloquence never failed to work in him. For as his 
mind rolled along, and began to glow from its own action, all the exiivim of the clown seemed to shed 
themselves spontaneously. His attitude by degrees became erect and lofty. The spirit of his genius 
awakened all his features. His countenance shone with a nobleness and grandeur which it had.never 
before exhibited. There was a lightning in his eyes which seemed to rivet the spectator. His action 
became graceful, bold, and commanding; and in the tones of his voice, but more especially in his em- 
phasis, there was a peculiar charm, a magic, of which any one who ever heard him will speak as soon 
as he is named, but of which no one can give any adequate description. They can only say that it 
struck upon the ear and upon the heart, in a, manner which language cannot tell. Add to all these, his 
wonder-working fancy, and the peculiar phraseology in which he clothed its images ; for he painted to 
the heart with a force that almost petrified it. In the language of those who heard him on this occa- 
sion. " he made their blood run cold, and their hair to rise on end." 

It will not be difficult for any one who ever heard this most extraordinary man, to believe the whole 
account of this transaction which is given by his surviving hearers ; and from their account, the court- 
house of Hanover county must have exhibited, on this occasion, a scene as picturesque as has been ever 
witnessed in real life. They say that the people, whose countenances had fallen as he arose, had 
heard but a very few sentences before they began to look up ; then to look at each other with surprise, 
as if doubting the evidence of their own senses ; then, attracted by some strong gesture, struck by some 
majestic attitude, fascinated by the spell of his eye, the charm of his emphasis, and the varied and 
commanding expression of his countenance, they could look away no more. In less than twenty minutes 
they might be seen , in every part of the house, on every bench, in every window, stooping forward from 
their stands, in death-like silence ; their features fixed in amazement and awe, all theh senses listening 
and riveted upon the speaker, as if to catch the last strain of some heavenly visitant. The mockery of 
the clergy was soon turned into alarm, their triumph into confusion and despair, and at one burst of his 
rapid and overwhelming invective, they fled from the bench in precipitation and terror. As for the father, 
such was his surprise, such his amazement, such his rapture, that, forgetting where he was, and the 
character which he was filling, tears of ecstasy streamed down his cheeks, without the power or inclina- 
tion to repress them. 

The jury seem to have been so completely bewildered, that they lost sight not only of the act of 1748, 
but that of 1758 also ; for, thoughtless even of the admitted right of the plaintiff, they had scarcely left 
the bar when they returned with a verdict of one penny damages. A motion was made for a new trial ; but 
the court, too, had now lost the equipoise of their judgment, and overruled the motion by a unanimous 
vote. The verdict, and judgment overruling the motion, were followed by redoubled acclamation, from 
within and without the house. The people, who had with difficulty kept their hands off their champion 
from the moment of closing his harangue, no sooner saw the fate of the cause finally sealed than they 
seized him at the bar, and, in spite of his own exertions and the continued cry of " order," from the 
sheriflS and the court, they bore him out of the court-house, and raising Mm on their shoulders, earned 
him about the yard in a kind of electioneering triumph. 

From this time Mr. Henry's star was in the ascendant, and he at once rose to the 
head of his profession in that section. In the autumn of 1764, having removed to Round- 
about, in Louisa county, he was employed to argue a case before a committee on elec- 
tions of the House of Burgesses. He distinguished himself by a brilliant display on the 
right of suffrage. Such a burst of eloquence from a man of so humble an appearance, 
struck the committee with amazement, and not a sound but from his lips broke the 
deep silence of the room. 

In 1765, he was elected a member of the House of Burgesses, when he introduced his 
celebrated resolutions on the Stamp Act. Among his papers tliere was found, after his 
decease, one sealed and thus endorsed : 

" Enclosed are the resolutions of the Virginia Assembly, in 1765, concerning the Stamp Act. Let my 
executors open this paper." On the back of the paper containing the resolutions was the following 
endorsement : " The within passed the House of Burgesses in May, 1765. They formed the first opposi- 
tion to the Stamp Act, and the scheme of taxing America by the British parliament. All the colonics, 
either through fear, or the want of opportunity to form an opposition, or from inlhience of some kind or 
other, had remained silent. I had been for the first time elected a burgess a few days before, was young, 
inexperienced, unacquainted with the forms of the house and the members who composed it. Finding 
the men of weight averse to opposition, and the commencement of the tax at hand, and that no person 
was likely to step forth, I determined to venture ; and alone, unaided and unassisted, on the blank leaf 
of an old law-book, wrote the within. Upon oftering them to the house, violent debates ensued. Many 
threats were uttered, and much abuse cast on me by the parties for submission. After a long and 
warm contest, the resolutions passed by a very small majority, perhaps one or two only. The alarm 
spread throughout America with astonishing quickness, and the ministerial party were overwhelmed. 
The great point of resistance to British taxation was universally established in the colonies. This 
brought on the war, which finally separated the two countries, and gave independence to ours. Whether 
this will prove' a blessing or a curse, will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a 
gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a 
contrary character, they will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation. Reader, 
whoever thou art, remember this ; and in thy sphere, practise virtue thyself, and encourage It in others. 

" P. HENRY." 

It was in the midst of the above-mentioned debate that he exclaimed, in tones of 
thunder, " Caesar had his Brutus — Charles the First his Cromwell — and George the 

38 



298 HANOVER COUNTY. 

Third — (' Treason I' cried the speaker — ' Treason ! treason !' echoed from every part of 
the house. Henry faltered not for a moment ; taking a loftier attitude, and fixing on 
the speaker an eye of fire, he finished his sentence with the firmest emphasis) — " may 
profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it." Henceforth Mr. 




The old Court-Hovse, Hanover. 

[The Hanover Court-House Is over a century old, and is built of imported brick. It is the building In 
which Patrick Henry made his celebrated speech in " The Parsons' Cause."] 

Henry was the idol of the people of Virginia, and his influence as one of the great 
champions of liberty, extended throughout America. In 1769 he was admitted to the 
bar of the general court. Without that legal learning which study alone can supply, he 
was deficient as a mere lawyer. But before a jury, in criminal cases particularly, his 
genius displayed itself most brilliantly. His deep knowledge of the springs of human 
action, his power of reading in the flitting expressions of the countenance what was pass- 
ing in the hearts of his hearers, has rarely been possessed by any one in so great a de- 
gree. In 1767 or '68, Mr. Henry removed back to Hanover, and continued a member 
of the House of Burgesses until the close of the revolution, acting upon its most im- 
portant committees, and infusing a spirit of bold opposition in its members to the pre- 
tensions of Britain. He was a delegate to the first Colonial Congress, which assembled 
Sept. 4, 1774, at Philadelphia. 

Upon Lord Dunmore's seizing the gunpowder at Williamsburg, in the night after the 
battle of Lexington, Henry summoned volunteers to meet him ; and marching down to- 
wards the capitol, compelled the agent of Dunmore to give a pecuniary compensation 
for it. This was the first military movement in Virginia. The colonial convention of 
1775 elected him the colonel of the first regiment, and the commander of " all the forces 
raised and to be raised for the defence of the colony." Soon resigning his command, 
he was elected a delegate to the convention, and not long after, in 1776, the^rsi gov- 
ernor of the commonwealth, an office he held by successive re-elections until 1779, 
when, without an intermission, he was no longer constitutionally eligible. While hold- 
ing that office he was signally serviceable in sustaining public spirit during the gloomiest 
period of the revolution, providing recruits, and crushing the intrigues of the tories. 

On leaving the office of governor, he served, until the end of the war, in the legisla- 
ture, when he was again elected governor, until the state of his affairs caused him to 
resign in the autumn of 1786. Until 1794 he regularly attended the courts, where his 
great reputation obtained for him a lucrative business. " In 1788 he was a member of 
the convention of Virginia which so ably and eloquently discussed the constitution of the 
United States. He employed his masterly eloquence, day after day, in opposition to the 
proposed constitution. His hostility to it proceeded entirely from an apprehension that 
the federal government would swallow the sovereignty of the states ; and that ultimate- 
ly the liberty of the people would be destroyed, or crushed, by an overgrown and pon- 
derous consolidation of political power. The constitution having been adopted, the gov- 
ernment organized, and Washington elected President, his repugnance measurably 
abated. The chapter of amendments considerably neutralized his objections : but, 
nevertheless, it is believed that his acquiescence resulted more from the consideration of 



HARDY COUNTV. 299 

a 'Citizen's duty, confidence in the chief magistrate, and a hopeful reliance on the wis- 
dom and virtue of the people, rather than from any material change in his opinions." 

In 1794 Mr. Henry retired from the bar. In 1796 the post of governor was once 
more tendered to him, and refused. In 1798 the strong and animated resolutions of the 
Virginia Assembly, in opposition to the alien and sedition laws, which laws he was in 
favor of, " conjured up the most frightful visions of civil war, disunion, blood, and anar- 
chy ; and under the impulse of these phantoms, to make what he considered a virtuous 
effort for his country, he presented himself in Charlotte county as a candidate for the 
House of Delegates, at the spring election of 1799," although he had retired to private 
life three years previously. 

His speech on this occasion, before the polls were opened, was the last effort of his 
eloquence. " The power of the noon-day sun was gone ; but its setting splendors were 
not less beautiful and touching." Mr. Henry was elected by his usual commanding 
majority, and the most formidable preparations were made to oppose him in the Assem- 
bly. But " the disease which had been preying upon him for two years now hastened 
to its crisis ; and on the 6th of June, 1799, this friend of liberty and man was no more." 

By his first wife he had six children, and by his last, six sons and three daughters. 
He left them a large landed property. He was temperate and frugal in his habits of 
living, and seldom drank any thing but water. He was nearly six feet in height, spare, 
and raw-boned, and with a slight stoop in his shoulders ; his complexion dark and sal- 
low ; his countenance grave, thoughtful, and penetrating, and strongly marked with 
the lines of profound reflection, which with his earnest manner, and the habitual knit- 
ting and contracting of his brows, gave at times an expression of severity. " He was 
gifted with a strong and musical voice, and a most expressive countenance, and he ac- 
quired particular skill in the use of them. . . . He could be vehement, insinuating, humor- 
ous, and sarcastic, by turns, and always with the utmost effect. He was a natural ora- 
tor of the highest order, combining imagination, acuteness, dexterity, and ingenuity, 
with the most forcible action, and extraordinary powers of face and utterance. As a 
statesman, his principal merits were sagacity and boldness. His name is brilliantly and 
lastingly connected with the history of 'his country's emancipation." 

" In private life, Mr. Henry was as amiable as he was brilliant in his public career. 
He was an exemplary Christian, and his illustrious life was greatly ornamented by the 
religion which he professed. In his will he left the following testimony respecting the 
Christian religion : ' I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is 
one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion. If they 
have that, and I had not given one shilling, they would be rich ; and if they have not 
that, and I had given them the whole world, they would be poor.' " 



HARDY. 

Hardy was formed in 1786, from Hampshire, and named from 
Samuel Hardy, a member of Congress from 1783 to 1785. He was 
a young man of promising talents, who died suddenly. Its mean 
length is 42, breadth 17 miles. The surface of the county is 
traversed, in a ne. direction, by the South Branch and other tri- 
butaries of the Potomac ; with lateral chains of mountains inter- 
vening, and extending in the same direction with the rivers. The 
surface is much broken, and, for the most part, very rocky and 
sterile ; but tracts of excellent land lie on the streams, and in the 
mountain-valleys. There are some valuable banks of iron ore in 
the county. Pop., whites 6,100, slaves 1,131, free colored 391 ; 
total, 7,622. 

Trout Run, or Wardensville, is a small village on Trout Run, in 
the eastern section of the county, 26 miles from the county-seat. 
It was laid off in 1827. In the place and vicinity are several 



300 HARDY COUNTY. 

flour mills and iron works. Moorefield, the county-seat, is 178 
miles Nw. of Richmond, and 50 miles southwesterly from Win- 
chester. This village is situated on the South Branch of the Poto- 
mac, at the junction of the south fork, in a valley of surpassing 
fertility, and contains a population of about 400. It was estab- 
lished by law, in 1777, on land belonging to Conrad Moore, from 
whom it derived its name. The act appointed, as trustees to lay 
out the town, Garret Vanmeter, Abel Randall, Moses Hutton, Jacob 
Read, Jonathan Heath, Daniel M'Neil, and Geo. Rennock. Peters- 
burg is a small village on the South Branch of the Potomac. 

On the Wappatomaka have been found numerous Indian relics, among which was a 
highly finished pipe, representing a snake coiled around the bowl. There was also dis- 
covered the under jaw-bone of a human being (says Kercheval) of great size, which 
contained eight jaw-teeth in each side, of enormous size ; and, what is more remarkable, 
the teeth stood transversely in the jaw-bone. It would pass over any man's face with 
entire ease. 

The Fairfax Stone, the southern point of the western boundary between Mary- 
land and Virginia, is on the westerly angle of this county. It was planted Oct. 17, 1746 

There are several natural curiosities in this county worthy of 
note. They are the Regurgitary Spring, the Lost River, and the 

Devil's Garden. 

The Regurgitary Spring is on the summit of a high mountain, a few miles from 
Petersburg. It flows and ebbs every two hours. When rising, it emits a noise similar 
to the gurgling of liquor from the bung-hole of a barrel, which continues two hours, and 
sends out sand and pebbles. It then ebbs two hours, at the end of which time the water 
entirely disappears. 

I'he Devil's Garden. A strip of ground between two lofty ranges of mountains, rises 
gradually for about three miles, when it abruptly terminates at its southern extremity by 
an isolated and perpendicular pile of granitic rocks, of about 500 feet in height. At this 
place there is a figure in solid rock, resembling, in its upper part, the bust of a man. It 
is on a piece of ground thickly strewn with rocks, which, from the dark frowning appear- 
ance of the image, standing as the presiding deity of this savage spot, has given rise to 
the name it bears. Near his " Satanic majesty," a door opens into a cavern, containing 
about a dozen rooms. The Lost River is so called from having, in the aggregate, a sub- 
terranean passage of three miles under several mountains. 

This section of the country suffered severely in the Indian wars, 
previous to the revolution. Some incidents of bravery deserve a 
record : 

Near Petersburg, a party of Indians attacked, just before daybreak, the dwelling of 
Samuel Bingham. Himself, wife, and parents, slept below, and a hired man in the loft 
above. A shot was first fired into the cabin, wounding his wife. Bingham sprang to his 
feet, bade the others to get under the bed, and requested the hired man to come down to 
his assistance, who, however, did not move. As the Indians rushed in at the door, he 
laid about him, with his rifle, with so much desperation that he finally cleared the room. 
Daylight appearing, he discovered that he had killed five, and the remaining two were 
Been retreating. He having broken his rifle in the melee, seized one which had been 
left by the Indians, and wounded one of the fugitives. Tradition relates that the 
other fled to the Indian camp, and reported that they had a fight with a devil, who had 
killed six of his companions, and that if they went, he would kill them all. 

There was a memorable battle fought with the Indians, called the battle of Trough 
Hill. The whites were surrounded, and 'greatly outnumbered, but they fought with 
Spartan-like bravery ; and cutting their way through the savages, retreated to Fort 
pleasant with the loss of many killed and wounded. In retreating, they w^re obliged 
to swim a river. Some, too badly wounded for this, loaded their rifles and deliberately 
awaited the approach of the savages from behind some cover, and dealt certain death 
to the first who approached, and then calmly yielded to the tomahawk. 



HARRISON COUNTY. 301 

When Cornwallis entered Virginia, a party of tories, at the head of whom was a 
Scotchman named Claypole, and his two sons, raised the British standard, and gained a 
large party on Lost River, and on the south fork of the Wappatomaka. It was their 
intention to join Cornwallis. It was, however, crushed in the bud by a force from Win- 
chester, under General Daniel Morgan ; and several of the young men, ashamed of their 
conduct, volunteered and marched to aid in the capture of the British at Yorktown. . 



HARRISON. 

Harrison was created in 1784, from Monongalia, and named in 
honor of Benjamin Harrison, governor of Virginia from 1781 to 
1784, and father of the late President of the U. States. The sur- 
face is much broken, and much of the soil on the streams fertile. 
The bounds have been reduced within a few years by the for- 
mation of Marion, Ritchie, Barbour, and Taylor counties. Pop. in 
1840, whites 16,850, slaves 693, free colored 126 ; total, 17,699. 

Bridgeport, 6 miles east of Clarksburg, contains 1 Methodist and 
1 Baptist church, and 25 dwellings. Lewisport, Milford, and 
Shinnston, are small villages in the county. 

Clarksburg, the county-seat, lies 253 miles northwesterly from 
Richmond, and 70 east of the Ohio River, at the junction of Elk 
creek with the west fork of the Monongahela. The village 
stands on a rolling table-land, surrounded by an amphitheatre of 
hills, while Elk creek, meandering through and around the town, 
imparts additional beauty to the scene. Clarksburg was estab- 
lished by law, Oct., 1785, and William Carpenter, John Myers, 
William Haymond, John M'Ally, and John Davisson, gentlemen, 
were appointed the trustees. It is now a flourishing town, and 
contains 7 mercantile stores, 2 newspaper printing offices, 2 fine 
classical academies, 1 Methodist, and 1 Presbyterian church, and 
a population of about 1100. There are inexhaustible supplies of 
coal in the immediate neighborhood ; and being in the midst of a 
fertile country, possessing great mineral wealth in its iron, salt, 
&c., it possesses the elements of prosperity. This immediate 
vicinity was settled a few years before the commencement of the 
revolutionary war. The early settlers in this region of country 
suffered greatly in the wars with the Indians, until Wayne's treaty 
in 1795. Withers' Chronicles of Border Warfare and History of 
Northwestern Virginia, published at Clarksburg in 1831, details 
many soul-harrowing cases of savage barbarity. 

Jesse Hughs was one of the bold pioneers who acted a conspicuous part against 
the Indians. He was bred from infancy in the hotbed of Indian warfare, and resided 
in Clarksburg. He was a light-built, spare man, and remarkably active on foot, and 
from his constant practice of hunting, became one of the best woodsmen and Indian 
hunters of his day. The annexed anecdotes we derive from the American Pioneer : 

About the year 1790, the Indians one night came secretly upon the settlement at 
Clarksburg, and stole some horses. Next morning at daylight a party of about 25 men 
started in pursuit, and came upon the Indian trail, and judged from appearances there 
were only 8 or 10 of them. The captain and a majority, in a hasty council, were for 
pursuing the trail. Hughs opposed it, and advised them to let him pilot them by a near 



302 HENRICO COUNTY. 

Way to the Ohio, and intercept the Indians in their retreat. But this they would not 
tisten to. He then showed them the danger of following their trail ; and that in that 
case they would be waylaid, — that the Indians would choose a secure position, shoot 
two or three of them, and escape. The commander, jealous of Hughs' influence, broke 
up the council, by exclaiming : " All the men may follow me — let the cowards go home !" 
and dashed off at full speed. Hughs felt the insult, but followed with the rest. The 
result proved as he had predicted. Two Indians in ambush on the top of a cliff, fired and 
mortally wounded two of the party in the ravine, and escaped. Now convinced of their 
error, they put themselves under Hughs ; but on arriving at the Ohio, they saw that the 
savages had crossed it. Hughs then got some satisfaction of the captain for his insult 
to him. He told them he wanted to find who the cowards were ; that if any would 
go with him, or even one, he would cross the river in the pursuit. They ail refused. 
He then said he would go alone, and get a scalp, or leave his own with them. Alone 
he crossed the river, and the next morning came upon their camp. They were all ab- 
sent hunting except one Indian, who was left to guard the camp. He, unsuspecting 
danger, was fiddling on some dry bones, and singing, to pass the time, when Hughs 
crept up and shot him ; and, with the poor fellow's scalp, returned to his home some 70 
miles distant, through the wilderness. 

At a time of great danger from the incursions of the Indians in Virginia, when the 
citizens of the neighborhood were in a fort at Clarksburg, Hughs one morning observed 
a lad very intently fixing his gun. " Jim," said he, " what are you doing that for ?" 
" I am going to shoot a turkey that I hear gobbling on the hillside," said Jim. " I hear 
no turkey," said Hughs. " Listen," says Jim ; " there, didn't you hear it ? listen 
again." " Well," says Hughs, after hearing it repeated, " I'll go and kill it." " No 
you won't," says Jim, "it is my turkey ; I heard it first." " Well," says Hughs, "but 
you know I am the best marksman ; and besides, I don't want the turkey, you may 
have it." The lad then agreed to let Hughs go and kill it for him. Hughs went out 
of the fort on the side that was farthest from the supposed turkey, and taking along the 
river, went up a ravine and came in on the rear ; and, as he expected, he espied an In- 
dian sitting on a chestnut stump, surrounded by sprouts, gobbling, and watching to see 
if any one would come from the fort to kill the turkey. Hughs crept up behind him, 
and shot him, before the Indian knew of his approach. He took off the scalp and 
went into the fort, where Jim was waiting for his prize. " There, now," says Jim, 
" you have let the turkey go. I would have killed it if I had gone." " No," says 
Hughs, " I didn't let it go ;" and taking out the scalp, threw it down. " There, take 
your turkey, Jim, I don't want it." The lad was overcome, and nearly fainted, to think 
of the certain death he had escaped, purely by the keen perception and good manage- 
ment of Mr. Hughs. 



HENRICO. 

Hknrico was one of the eight original shires into which Virginia 
was divided in 1634. Its mean length is 27 miles ; mean breadth 
10| miles. Excepting the lands on the James and Chickahominy, 
the soil is generally light and unproductive. The surface is mode-^ 
rately undulating, terminating in abrupt precipices, both on the 
Chickahominy and James River bottoms. Over one million of 
bushels bituminous coal are annually mined in the western section 
of the county. A rail-road connects the mines with James River. 
Population, including Richmond, whites 16,900, slaves 13,237, free 
colored 2,939 ; total, 33,076. 

As early as 1611, Sir Thomas Dale established a town on the James River, 
which, in honor of Prince Henry, he called Henrico. From this originated the name 
of the county. It contained three streets of framed houses, with a good church, be- 
sides storehouses, watchhouses, &c., and was defended by a palisade and several forts. 
" Upon the verge of the river bank," says Stith, in his History of Virginia, published 
about a century since, " stood five houses inhabited by the better sort of people, who 
kept continual sentinel for the town's security. 

" About two miles from the town, into the main, he ran another palisade, from river 



HENRICO COUNTY. 303 

to rivet, near two miles in length, guarded with several forts, with a large quantity of 
corn ground impaled, and sufficiently secured. Besides these precautions, there may 
still be seen, upon the river bank, within the island, the ruins of a great ditch, now over- 
grown with large and stately trees ; which, it may be supposed, was defended with a 
palisade, to prevent a surprise on that side, by crossing the river ; and for a still further 
security to the town, he intended, but never quite finished, a palisade on the south side 
of the river, as a range for the hogs ; and he called it Hope in Faith and Coxendale, 
It was about two miles and a half long, and was secured by five of their sort of forts, 
called Charity fort, Elizabeth fort, fort Patience, and Mount Malady, with a guest-house 
for sick people, upon a high and dry situation, and in a wholesome air, m the place 
where Jefferson church now stands. On the same side of the river also, Mr. Whitaker, 
their preacher, chose to be seated ; and he impaled a fine parsonage, with a hundred 
acres of land, calling it Rock Hall." 

Richmond, the metropolis of Virginia, is situated on the north 
side of James River, at the Great Falls, distant 117 miles from 
Washington City, 342 from New York, 557 from Boston, 520 fronj 
Cincinnati, 1055 from New Orleans, 423 from Charleston, 351 from 
Wheeling, 116 from Lynchburg, 62 from Fredericksburg, 106 from 
Norfolk, 146 from Winchester, and 23 from Petersburg. 

Although Richmond is comparatively a modern town, yet its site is frequently alluded 
to in the early history of Virginia. The first mention of it is in 1609, when Master 
West, in a scarci-ty of provisioias, went up from Jamestown to the Falls of James River, 
as the place was then called, to procure food, but found nothing edible except acorns. 
In the same year West was sent with a colony of 120 men, to settle at the falls. Capt. 
John Smith, then president of the colony, visiting West's settlement found his people 
planted " in a place not only subject to the river's inundation, but round environed with 
many intolerable inconveniences." This was, perhaps, where Rockett's now is, just 
below Richmond. 

" To remedy these inconveniences. Smith, by means of a messenger, proposed to 
Powhatan to purchase from him the place of that name.* The settlers, however, dis- 
dainfully rejected Smith's plan, and became so mutinous upon the occasion that Smith 
landed among them and committed the ringleaders to confinement. At length, how- 
ever, overpowered by their numbers, he being only supported by five, was forced to retire 
to a vessel in the river. At this time the savages daily supplied Smith with provisions, 
in requital for which the disorderly English stole their corn, plundered their gardens, beat 
them, broke into their wigwams and made them prisoners, so that the poor Indians com- 
plained to Smith that those whom he had planted there as their protectors were worse 
than their enemies the Monocans. Smith embarked for Jamestown. No sooner had he 
sailed, than a handful of Indians assaulted West's people, and slew many of them. 
However, before Smith had proceeded a mile and a half down the river, his vessel ran 
aground, whereupon he summoned the malecontents to a parley, and with such a panic 
were they struck at the assault of a few savages, that they submitted themselves to the 
president's mercy. He arrested the ringleaders, and established the rest at Powhatan 
in the Indian palisade fort there, which was so well fortified with poles and bark of trees, 
as to defy all the savages of Virginia. They found, also, there, dry wigwams, and near 
200 acres of land ready to be planted. And from the strength and beauty of the place, 
they called it ' Nonsuch.' Smith being now on the eve of his departure. West arrived, 
which renewed all the troubles, and the upshot was that they abandoned Nonsuch and 
returned to the Falls. Smith, finding all his efforts frustrated, embarked for Jamestowu 
in his boat, for the vessel had sailed two days before." 

In 1 644-5, the Assembly of Virginia ordered a fort to be erected at the Falls of James 
River, to be called " fforte Charles." In 1646 an act was passed, of which the follow, 
ing is an extract : — 

" And, whereas, there is no platitable land adjoyning to ffort Charies, and therefore no encouragement 
for any vndertaker to maintaine the same, It is, therefore, thought fitt and inacted. That if any person oy 
persons purchasing the right of Capt. Thomas Harris shall or will seate or inhabitt on the south side o€ 
James River right opposite to the said fforte, soe it be done this or the ensueing yeare, That hee or they 
so vndertakeing as aforesaid shall have and enjoy the houseing belonging to the said ffort for the vse of 
timber, or by burning them for the nailes or otherwise, as also shall be exempted from the publique taxes 
for the term of three years, provided that the number exceed not tenn, £is also shall have and enjoy ths 
boats and ammunition belonging to the said ffort." 

* The town where this monarch resided was called after him, Powhatan. It consisted of about a 
dozen houses, and stood about two miles below tke sit© of Richmond. 



304 HENRICO COUNTY. 

In March, 1675-6, war was declared against the Indians. Five hundred men wer« 
ordered to proceed to the frontier, and eight forts garrisoned. " Fifty-five men out of 
James City county to be garrisoned neare the fFalls of James River, at Captain Byrd's, 
or at one ffort or place of defence over against him at Newletts, [or Howletts,] of which 
fforte Coll. Edward Ramsay be captaine or cheife commander." 

In 1676, a party of Indians, evacuating a fort on the Potomac where they had been 
besieged by the colonists, " took their route over the head of that river, and thence over 
the heads of Rappahannock and York Rivers, killing whom they found of the upmost 
plantations, until they came to the head of James River, where (with Bacon and others) 
they slew Mr. Bacon's overseer, whom he much loved, and one of his servants, whose 
blood he vowed to avenge, if possible "* 

" Bacon's Quarter Branch and Bloody Run, near Richmond, still call to mind Bacon 
and his rebellion. The term Bacon's Quarter, indicates that his plantation lay there. 
Bloody Run, according to tradition, is so called from a bloody battle Bacon fought there 
with the Indians. We have not been able to find any thing in the history of those 
times to confirm this tradition, and it would seem more probable that Bloody Run de- 
rived its name from the battle in which Hill was defeated, and Totopotomoi skin. The 
stream is a small one, and is said during the battle to have run blood."t 

In 1679, certain privileges were granted Capt. Wm."Byrd, upon the condition that he 
should settle fifty able-bodied and well-armed men in the vicinity of the falls, to act as, 
a protection to the frontier against the Indians. 

In the Westover mss. Col. Byrd mentions his plantations at the falls, as follows : 
" September 18th, (1732,) for the pleasure of the good company of Mrs. Byrd and her 
little governor, iny son, I went about half-way to the falls in my chariot. There we 
halted not far from a purling stream, and upon the stump of a propagate oak picked the 
bones of a piece of roast beef. By the spirit which it gave me, I was the better able 
to part with the dear companions of my travels, and to perform the rest of my journey 
on horseback by myself. I reached Shacco's before two o'clock, and crossed the river 
to the mills. I had the grief to find them both stand as still for the want of water, as 
a dead woman's tongue for want of breath. It had rained so little for many weeks 
above the falls, that the Naiads had hardly water enough left to wash their faces. How- 
ever, as we ought all to turn our misfortunes to the best advantage, I directed Mr. 
Booker, my first minister there, to make use of the lowness of the water for blowing up 
the rocks at the mouth of the canal. * * * The water now flowed out of the river 
so slowly, that the miller was obliged to pond it up in the canal, by setting open the 
flood-gates at the mouth, and shutting those close at the mill. By this contrivance, he 
was able at any time to grind two or three bushels, either for his choice customers or for 
the use of my plantations. Then I walked to the place where they bioke the flax, 
which is wrought with much greater ease than the hemp, and is much better for spin- 
ning. From thence I paid a visit to the weaver, who needed a little of Minerva's in- 
spiration to make the most of a piece of cloth. Then I looked in upon my Caledonian 
spinster, who was mended more in her looks, than in her humor. * * On the next 
day, after I had swallowed a few poached eggs, we rode down to the mouth of the canal, 
and from thence crossed over to the broad-rock island in a canoe. Our errand was to 
view some iron ore, which we dug up in two places. That on the surface seemed very 
spongy and poor, which gave us no great encouragement to search deeper, nor did the 
quantity appear to be very great. However, for my greater satisfaction, I ordered a 
hand to dig there for some time this winter. We walked from one end of the island to 
the other, being about half a mile in length, and found the soil very good, and too high 
for any flood less than Deucalion's to do the least damage. There is a vjery wild pros- 
pect both upwards and downwards, the river being full of rocks, over which the stream 
tumbled with a murmur loud enough to drown the notes of a scolding wife. This island 
would make an agreeable hermitage for any good Christian, who had a mind to retire 
from the world." 

Richmond was established a town by law in the reign of George II., May, 1742, on 
land belonging to Col. WiUiam Bj^rd, who died in 1744. The locality was anciently 
called Byrd's Warehouse. That gentleman, at the time, had a warehouse near where 
the Exchange Hotel now is. The seat of a Col. Byrd is thus described in Burnaby's 
Travels in North America in 1759-60. He "has a small place called Belvidere, upon 
a hill at the lower end of these falls, (James River,) as romantic and elegant as any 
thing I have ever seen. It is situated very high, and commands a fine prospect of the 

* T. M.'s account of Bacon's Rebellion. t From mss. of Charles Campbell, Esq. 



HENRICO COUNTY. 305 

river, which is half a mile broad, forming cataracts in the manner above described. 
There are several little islands scattered carelessly about, very rocky and covered with 
trees, and two or three villages in view at a small distance. Over all these you discover 
a prodigious extent of wilderness, and the river winding majestically along through the 
midst of it." 

In 1777, the assailable situation of Williamsburg to the aggressions of the enemy, 
occasioned the Assembly of the state to remove the troops, arms, and ammunition, toge- 
ther with the public records, to Richmond ; and, partially from the same cause, and the 
extension of the population westward, an act was passed. May, 1779, to remove the seat 
of government here. At this time, Richmond was an insignificant place, scarcely 
affording sufficient accommodations for the officers of government. The legislature 
bestowed upon it the name of a city ; but it was then only a city in embryo, with 
scarcely any thing of interest except the grandeur of its natural scenery. The analo- 
gy of the situation of the place to that of Richmond-on-the-Thames, in England, sug- 
gested the name the town bears. The public buildings were temporary. The old capi- 
tal, which was private property, stood on the site now occupied by the custom-house, and 
some of the adjacent buildings. It was a wooden structure, long since destroyed. 

Richmond was invaded by the traitor Arnold in 1781. The sub- 
joined account is from Tucker's Life of Jefferson : 

On the 3d of January the fleet came to anchor at Jamestown, and on the 4th it 
reached Westover, where about 900 men, but then supposed to be a much larger force, 
landed under the command of the notorious Arnold, and proceeded on their march to- 
wards Richmond. Until then, it was not known whether that town or Petersburg was 
the object of attack. The governor, [Jefferson,] on the same day, called out the whole 
of the militia from the adjacent counties ; but having no means of present resistance, 
he endeavored to secure that part of the public property which could be removed, by 
having it transported to the south bank of James River. Such of it as had been pre- 
viously sent to Westham, six miles above Richmond, was also ordered to cross the river. 
That night the enemy encamped at Four-mile creek, 12 miles below Richmond. At 
half after seven o'clock at night, the governor set out for Westham, and, having stopped 
to hasten the transportation of the arms and stores, he proceeded to join his family at 
Tuckahoe, eight miles further, which place he reached after midnight. 

The next morning, having taken his family across the river, and sent them to a place 
of safety, he rode down to Britton's, opposite to Westham, and gave further orders con- 
cerning the public property, the transportation of which had been continued through the 
whole night, and part of the next day, until the approach of the enemy. He then pro- 
ceeded to Manchester, from whence he had a full view of the invading force. They, 
had reached Richmond at 1 o'clock in the afternoon of that day, at which time there 
were only 200 militia, including those of the town, embodied. 

The governor wishing to advise with Baron Steuben, then commanding the new levies 
in the state intended for the south, and which then amounted to 200 recruits, went to 
Chetwood's, his head-quarters, a few miles from Manchester, but learning he was at 
Col. Fleming's, the governor proceeded to that place, where he continued that night. 
While there, some of the citizens of Richmond waited on him, to tender an offer from 
Arnold not to burn the town, provided British vessels were permitted to come to it un- 
molested, and take off the tobacco there deposited. The offer was unhesitatingly re- 
jected. As soon as Arnold reached Richmond, he sent a detachment under Col. Sim- 
coe to destroy the cannon foundry above the town — which having done, they advanced 
to Westham ; but finding that all the public property sent thither had been transported 
over the river, they returned to Richmond the same day. On the 6th, the governor re- 
turned to Britton's, and having given orders respecting the public archives, rejoined his 
family in the evening at Fine creek. The British, after burning some public and some pri- 
vate buildings, as well as a large quantity of tobacco, left Richmond about 24 hours after 
they entered it, encamped at Four-mile creek, and on the 7th, at Berkley and Westover ; 
having thus penetrated 33 miles into the country from the place of debarkation, and 
completed their incursion, without loss, in 48 hours from the time of their landing. On 
the 7th, the governor went to Manchester, where he remained that night, and the next 
day returned to Richmond. 

The bare communication of the fact, that a force of 1,000, or at most 1,500 men, 
was able to invade a country containing at that time a population of more than half a 
million, and 50,000 enrolled militia — march to its metropolis — destroy all the public and 
much of the private property found there, and in its neighborhood — and to leave the 

39 



306 



HENRICO COUNTY. 



country with impunity, is, at first, calculated to excite our surprise, and to involve both 
the people, and those who administered its affairs, in one indiscriminate reproach. But 
there seems to be little ground for either wonder or censure, when it is recollected that 
these 50,000 militia were scattered oyer a surface of more than as many square miles ; 
that the metropolis, which was thus insulted, was but a village, containing scarcely 
1,800 inhabitants, half of whom were slaves ; and that the country itself, intersected by 
several navigable rivers, could not be defended against the sudden incursions of an enemy 
whose naval power gave it the entire command of the water, and enabled it to approach 
within a day's march of the point of attack. 




Skirmish at Richmond, Jan. 5tk, 1781. 
A. Rebel Infantry. — B. Rebel Cavalry. — C. Queen's Rangers. — D. Queen's Rangers' 
Cavalry. — E. Yagers. — F. British Army. — W. Warehouses. 

We here give a narration of the invasion of Richmond, from 
Simcoe's Journal. Lieut.-Col. Simcoe was the celebrated com- 
mander of a partisan corps called the Queen's Rangers. Late in 
life he was lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada. Although a 
gentlemanly man, he was noted for his prejudices against the 
United States. The engraving given is mainly important as de- 
lineating Richmond as it then was : 

On the arrival at Westover, the troops were immediately disembarked : at first, from 
the reports of the country of the force that was assembhng to defend Richmond, Gen. 
Arnold hesitated whether he should proceed thither or not, his positive injunctions being 
not to undertake any enterprise that had much risk in it ; but Lieut.-Cols. Dundas and 
Simcoe, concurring that one day's march might be made with perfect security, and that 
by this means more perfect information might be obtained, the troops were immediately 
put in motion, and proceeded towards Richmond, where the enemy was understood to 
have very considerable magazines. It was above 30 miles from Westover ; several trans- 
ports had not arrived, and Gen. Arnold's force did not amount to 800 men. On the 
second day's march, while a bridge was replacing over a creek, the advanced guard 
only having passed over, some of the enemy's militia, who had destroyed it the evening 
before, and were to assemble with others to defend it, were deceived by the dress of the 
Rangers, and came to Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, who immediately reprimanded them for not 
coming sooner, held conversation with them, and then sent them prisoners to Gen. Ar- 
nold. Within seven miles of Richmond, a patrol of the enemy appeared, who, on being 
discovered, fled at full speed : the Queen's Rangers, whose horses were in a miserable 
condition from the voyage, could not pursue them. Soon after, Lieut.-Col. Simcoe 
halted, having received the clearest information that a road, made passable by wood 



HENRICO COUNTY. 307 

carts, led through the thickets to the rear of the heights on which the town of Rich- 
mond was placed, where they terminated in a plain, although they were almost inacces- 
sible by the common road. On giving this information to Gen. Arnold, he said it was not 
worth while to quit the road, as the enemy would not fight. On approaching the town, 
Gen. Arnold ordered the troops to march as open, and to make as great an appearance, 
as possible ; and the ground was so favorable, that a more skilful enemy than those who 
were now reconnoitring, would have imagined the numbers to have been double. The 
enemy at Richmond appeared drawn up on the heights to the number of two or three 
hundred men : the road passed through a wood at the bottom of these heights, and then 
ran between them and the river into the lower town. Lieut.-Col. Simcoe was ordered 
to dislodge them : he mounted the hill in small bodies, stretching away to the right, so 
as to threaten the enemy with a design to outflank them ; and as they filed off", in ap- 
pearance to secure their flank, he directly ascended with his cavalry, where it was so 
steep that they were obliged to dismount and lead their horses. Luckily, the enemy 
made no resistance, nor did they fire ; but on the cavalry's arrival on the summit, re- 
treated to the woods in great confusion. There was a party of horsemen in the lower 
town, watching the motion of Lieut.-Col. Dundas, who, the heights being gained, was 
now entering it. Lieut.-Col. Simcoe pushed on with the cavalry, unnoticed by the 
enemy in the lower town, till such time as he began to descend almost in their rear, 
when an impassable creek stopped him, and gave the enemy time to escape to the top 
of another hill beyond the town. Having crossed over lower down, he ascended the hll), 
using such conversation and words towards them as might prevent their inclination to 
retreat. However, when the Rangers were arrived within twenty yards of the summit, 
the enemy, greatly superior in numbers, but made up of militia, spectators, some with 
and some without arms, galloped off"; they were immediately pursued, but without the 
least regularity : Capt. Shank and Lieut. Spencer, who had met with good horses in the 
country, far distanced the rest of the cavalry. Lieut.-Col. Simcoe left an officer to 
mark the position he meant his infantrj'' to take on their arrival, and collecting all the 
men he could overtake, followed Capt. Shank, anxious lest his ardor should prove fatal : 
he had pursued the enemy four or five miles, six or seven of whom he had taken, with 
several horses — a very well-timed capture. On Lieut.-Col. Simcoe's return, he met with 
orders from Gen. Arnold to march to the foundry at Westham, six miles from Richmond, 
and to destroy it ; the flank companies of the 80th, under Major Gordon, were sent as 
a reinforcement. With these, and his corps, he proceeded to the foundry : the trun- 
nions of many pieces of iron cannon were struck oflT; a quantity of small arms, and a 
great variety of military stores, were destroyed. Upon consultation with the artillery- 
officer, it was thought better to destroy the magazine than to blow it up. This fatiguing 
business was effected, by carrying the powder down the cliffs, and pouring it in the 
water ; the warehouses and mills were then set on fire, and many explosions happened 
in different parts of the buildings, which might have been hazardous, had it been relied 
on that all the powder was regularly deposited in one magazine ; and the foundry, which 
was a very complete one, was totally destroyed. It was night before the troops returned 
to Richmond ; the provisions which had been made for them were now to be cooked : 
fatigued with the march, the men in general went to sleep ; some of them got into pri- 
vate houses, and there obtained rum. 

Morse, the geographer, thus describes Richmond in 1789, ten 
years after it was made the capital : 

It " contains about 300 houses. The new houses are well built. A large and elegant 
State-house, or capitol, has lately been erected on the hill. The lower part of the town 
is divided by a creek, over which there is a bridge which, for Virginia, is elegant. A 
handsome and expensive bridge, between 300 and 400 yards in length, has lately been 
thrown across James River at the foot of the falls, by Col. John Mayo, a respectable 
and wealthy planter, whose seat is about a mile from Richmond. This bridge connects 
Richmond with Manchester ; and as the passengers pay toll, it produces a handsome 
revenue to Col. Mayo, who is the sole proprietor. The falls above the bridge are seven 
miles in length. A canal is cutting on the north side of the river, which is to terminate 
in a basin of about two acres, in the town of Richmond. The opening of this canal 
promises the addition of much wealth to Richmond." In the year 1794, the canal was 
so far completed that the difficulty of passing the rapids was removed. At this period, 
the principal merchants of Richmond, and, indeed, of all the large towns in Eastern 
Virginia, were Scotch and Scotch Irish. The inhabitants of this town have been 
described by Paulding as being then generally " a race of most ancient and respectable 



308 



HENRICO COUNTY. 



planters, having estates in the country, who chose it for their residence for the sake of 
social enjoyment. They formed a society now seldom to be met with in any of our 
cities. A society of people not exclusively monopolized by money-making pursuits, but 
of liberal education, liberal habits of thinking and acting ; and possessing both leisure 
and inclination to cultivate those feelings, and pursue those objects which exalt our 
nature, rather than increase our fortune." 



Richmond has increased steadily in population and wealth since 
it became the metropolis of the state. The population, in 1800, 
was 5,737; in 1810, 9,785; in 1820, 12,067; in 1830, 16,060; in 
1840, 20,153. "Its situation is beautiful, and even romantic. 
Shockoe and Richmond Hills stand opposite to each other, with 
Shockoe creek, a bold and lively stream, between them. The city 
is spread over those hills ; and along the margin of the river the 
hills have been thrown into various undulations, and present a 
great many points from which different views may be taken, 
highly beautiful. 

" The picturesque falls and rapids of the river, which extend more than six miles ; the 
islands ; the town of Manchester, connected by two bridges with Richmond ; the rich 
plantations adjoining the town ; the river, winding and stretching below to a great 
extent ; the waving hills on its north side, and the valley through which Sljockoe creek 
passes, are the principal objects on which the eye fixes ; and from every eminence they 
are seen in some new form, and under some new coloring of light and shade ; the whole 
presenting the three great requisites of landscape, viz., grandeur, beauty, and variety. 
Besides, Richmond is one of the healthiest cities in the United States. The annual 
amount of deaths, on an average, is one in eighty-Jive." 

With some trifling exceptions, the streets of Richmond intersect each other at right 
angles. The city plot has been greatly extended within a few years, and it now has an 
outline of 7^ miles in length, and an area of 3^ square miles, the larger portion of which 
is unoccupied by buildings. James River, immediately in front of the principal improve- 
ments, is interrupted by a ledge of rocks, which occasions a considerable fall in the 
stream. Some of these rocks rise into beautiful little islands. The navigable commu- 
nication around the falls, by means of a canal and locks, opened many years since, now 
forms the outlet of James River Canal, with which it is connected by a capacious 
basin, situated near the centre of business in the city. 

In the western division of the city, on Shockoe Hill, stands the capltol, on a com- 
manding situation, in the centre of a beautiful square of about eight acres. It is a 
spacious and showy building. The statue of Washington, in the area of the capitol, was 
the work of Iloudon, a French sculptor. It was made by the order of the Virginia 
Assembly, at Paris, under the direction of Jefferson, a few years after the close of the 
American revolution. The costume of this statue is the military dress of the revolu- 
tion. One hand holds a cane, the other rests upon the fasces, with which are united 
the sword and ploughshare, and over it a martial cloak. The inscription, by James 
Madison, on the pedestal, is as follows : 



George Washington. The General Assembly 
of the Commonwealth of Virginia have caused this 
statue to be erected, as a nioniiment of affection and 
gratitude to George Washington ; who, uniting to 
the endowments of the hero the virtues of the patriot, 
and exerting both in establishing the liberties of his 
country, has rendered his name dear to his fellow- 
citizens, and given the world an immortal example 
of true glory. Done in the year of Christ, one thou- 
sand seven hundred and eighty-eight, and in the 
year of the commonwealth the twelfth. 



Near the statue of Washington is a marble bust of Lafayette. In one angle of capi- 
tol square stands the city-hall, decorated at each end by a fine Doric portico of four 
columns. Near the eastern part of capitol square is a house erected for the residence of 



HENRICO COUNTY. 309 

the governor of the state. In another part of Richmond is seen the county court- 
house. In the western suburbs of the city is the state penitentiary, a large building in 
the form of a hollow square, 300 feet long and 110 feet broad, with several acres of 
ground connected with it. In the suburbs of the city, on the n., is the almshouse, a 
spacious building, surrounded by extensive grounds. Among the other public buildings 
are a county and city jail, an orphan asylum, a theatre, a museum, two markets, an 
armory 320 by 280 feet, an academy, and a masonic hall. The city is supplied by 
water, which is elevated, by water-power and two forcing-pumps, into three large reser- 
voirs, containing 1,000,000 gallons each, from which it is distributed over the city, and 
forms a great resource in case of fire, as well as a supply for the inhabitants. The cost 
of these works was about $120,000. There arethree banks in the city. 

Richmond is well situated for commerce. Vessels drawing 10 feet of water come to 
Rocket's, about a mile below the centre of the city ; and those drawing 15 feet, to War- 
wick, 3 miles below the city. The falls in James River are obviated by the canal, and 
above them it is navigable to Lynchburg. Regular lines of packets connect this city 
with New York and other places, and it is connected by steamboats to Norfolk. The 
principal articles of exportation are wheat, flour, and tobacco. The exports amount to- 
about $3,000,000. annually. The tonnage of this port in 1840, was 6,911. 

The manufactures of Richmond are also extensive. The falls of the James River 
afford a water-power of unlimited extent. There were in 1840, 17 foreign commercial 
and 29 commission-houses, cap. $3,062,000 ; 256 retail stores, cap. $1,646,450 ; 
3 lumber-yards, cap. $24,000 ; 4 furnaces, and 8 forges, &c., cap. $317,900 ; machinery 
produced amounted to $128,000; 1 cotton factory, 5,810 sp., cap. $175,000; tobacco 
manufactories, cap. $492,250; 1 paper factory, cap. $75,000 ; 3 flouring-mills, 2 grist- 
mills, 3 saw-mills, total cap. $61,000 ; 8 printing-offices, 1 bindery, 2 daily, 6 weekly, 
and 2 semi-weekly newspapers, and 1 periodical, cap. $48,700. Total cap. in manu- 
factories, $1,372,950. 

Richmond contains 23 churches — 4 Protestant Episcopal, 4 Baptist, 4 Methodist, 
3 Presbyterian, (one of them a Bethel,) 1 Catholic, 1 German Lutheran, 1 Disciples, or 
Campbellite, 1 Universalist, 1 Friends, or Quakers, 1 African, 2 Jewish Synagogues. 

The Monumental (Episcopal) Church is a handsome octagonal edifice, erected upon 
the spot once occupied by the Richmond Theatre, which was burnt in 1811. The 
remains of the unfortunate victims in that sad catastrophe, are deposited in a marble 
urn which stands in the front portico of the church, and from which it derives its name. 
The Right Rev. Bishop Moore preached here during his whole residence in Richmond. 

The Monumental congregation are now building a new structure, to which they in- 
tend removing, to be called St. Paul's Church. Its model is St. Luke's, in Philadelphia, 
of the Corinthian order, much elaborated. The spire is to be 208 feet high. 

The subjoined account of the burning of the Richmond Theatre, 
was published in the Richmond Standard the following day. 

Last night the play-house in this city was crowded with an unusual audience. There 
could not have been less than 600 persons in the house. Just before the conclusion of 
the play, the scenery caught fire, and in a few minutes the whole building was wrapped 
in flames. It is already ascertained that sixty-one persons were devoured by that most 
terrific element. The editor of this paper was in the house when the ever-to-be-remem- 
bered deplorable accident occurred. He is informed that the scenery took fire in the 
back part of the house, by the raising of a chandelier ; that the boy who was ordered by 
some of the players to raise it, stated that if he did so, the scenery would take fire, 
when he was commanded in a peremptory manner to hoist it. The boy obeyed, and 
the fire instantly communicated to the scenery. He gave the alarm in the rear of the 
stage, and requested some of the attendants to cut the cords by which the combustible 
materials were suspended. The person whose duty it was to perform this became panic- 
struck, and sought his own safety. This unfortunately happened at a time when one 
of the performers was playing near the orchestra, and the greatest part of the stage, 
with its horrid danger, was obscured from the audience by a curtain. 

The flames spread with almost the rapidity of lightning ; and the fire falling from the 
ceiling upon the performer, was the first notice the audience had of their danger. Even 
then, many supposed it a part of the play, and were a little time restrained from flight 
by a cry from the stage that there was no danger. The performers and their attendants 
in vain endeavored to tear down the scenery ; the fire flashed in every part of the house 
with a rapidity horrible and astonishing ; and, alas ! gushing tears and unspeakable 
anguish deprived rae of utterance. No person who was not present can form any idea 



310 



HENRICO COUNTY. 



of this unexampled scene of distress. The editor, having none of his family with him 
and not being far from the door, was among the first who escaped. 




Burning of the Richmond Theatre. 

[The aboa;e engraving of the burning of the theatre at Richmond, on the night of December 26th, 1811, 
is a reduced copy from one published at Philadelphia, by B. S. Tanner, in the February following.] 

No words can express his horror when, on turning round, he discovered the whole 
building to be in flames. There was but one door for the greatest part of the audience 
to pass. Men, women, and children were pressing upon each other, while the flames 
were seizing upon those behind. The editor went to the different windows, which were 
very high, and implored his fellow-creatures to save their lives by jumping out of them. 
Those nearest the windows, ignorant of their danger, were afraid to leap down, while 
those behind them were seen catching on fire, and writhing in the greatest agonies of 
pain and distress. At length those behind, urged by the pressing flames, pushed those 
who were nearest to the window, and people of every description began to fall one upon 
another, some with tlieir clothes on fire, some half roasted. Oh, wretched me ! Oh, 
afflicted people ! Would to God I could have died a thousand deaths in any shape, 
could individual suffering have purchased the safety of my friends, my benefactors, of 
those whom I loved ! . . . The editor, with the assistance of others, caught several of those 
whom he had begged to leap from the windows. One lady jumped out when all her 
clothes were on fire. He tore them burning from her, stripped her of her last rags, and, 
protecting her nakedness with his coat, carried her from the fire. Fathers and mothers 
were deploring the loss of their children, children the loss of their parents ; husbands 
were heard to lament their lost companions, wives were bemoaning their burnt husbands. 
The people were seen wringing their hands, beating their heads and breasts ; and those 
that had secured themselves, seemed to suffer greater torments than those enveloped in 
the flames. 

Oh ! distracting memory ! Who that saw this can think of it again, and yet retain 
his senses ! Do I dream ? No, no ! Oh, that it were but a dream. My God ! who 
that saw his friends and nearest c^-iinections devoured by fire, and laying in heaps at the 
door, will not regret thai he ever lived to see such a sight? Could savages have seen 
this memorable event it would even soften their hearts. 

\ sad gloom pervades this place, and every countenance is cast down to the earth. 



HENRICO COUNTY. 



311 



The loss of a hundred thousand friends on the field of battle could not touch the heart 
like this. Enough. Imagine what cannot be described. The most distant and impla- 
cable enemy, and the most savage barbarians, will mourn our unhappy lot. All of 
those in the pit escaped, and had cleared themselves from the house, before those in the 
boxes could get down ; and the door was for some time empty. Those from above were 
pushing each other down the steps, when the hindermost might have got out by leaping 
into the pit. A gentleman and lady, who otherwise would have perished, had their lives 
saved by being providentially thrown from the second boxes. There would not have 
been the least difficulty in descending from the first boxes into the pit. 




St. John's Church. 

In addition to the list now given, it is believed that at least sixty others perished, 
whose names are not yet ascertained : 

George W. Smith, governor, A. B. Venable, president of the bank, Benjamin Botts, wife, and niece, 
Mrs. Tayloe Braxton, Mrs. Patterson, Mrs. Gallegn, Miss Conyers, Lieut. J. Gibbon, in attempting to save 
Miss Conyers; Mrs. E. Page, Miss Lonisa Mayo, Mrs. William Cook, Miss Elvina Contts, Mrs. John Les- 
ley, Miss M. Nelson, Miss Nelson, Miss Page, Wm. Brown, Miss Julia Hervey, Miss Whitlock, George 
Dixon, A. Marshall (of Wythe) broke his neck in attempting to jump from a window, Miss Ann Craig, 
Miss Stevenson, (of Spottsylvania,) Mrs. Gibson, Miss Maria Hunter, Mrs. Mary Davis, Miss Gerard, 
Thomas Lecroix, Jane Wade, Blrs. Picket, Mrs. Heron, Mrs. Laforest and niece, Jo. Jacobs, Miss Jacobs, 
Miss. A. Bausman, Miss M. Marks, Edward Wanton, jr., two Misses Trouins, Mrs. Gerer, Mrs. Elicott, 
Miss Patsey Griffin, Mrs. Moss and daughter. Miss Littlepage, Miss Rebecca Cook, Mrs. Girardin and two 
children. Miss Margaret Copeland, Miss Gwathmey, Miss Clay, daughter of M. ClaVi member of Congress, 
Miss Gatewood, Mrs. Thomas Wilson, Wm. Southgate, Mrs. Robert Greenhow, Mrs. Convert and child. 
Miss Green, Miss C. Raphael. 

At a meeting of the commissioners appointed by the Common Hall to superintend the interment of 
the remains of their friends and fellow-citizens, who unfortunately lost their lives in the conflagration of 
the theatre, the following resolutions were adopted : 

1st. That the citizens of Richmond and Manchester, and the citizens at present residing in either of 
those places, be requested to assemble to-morrow, the 28th inst., at 10 o'clock, P. M., at the Baptist meel- 
ing-house, for the purpose of attending the funeral. 

2d. That the following be the order of procession : — corpses, clergy, mourners and ladies, executive 
council, directors of the bank, judiciary, members of the legislature, Court of Hastings, Common Hall, 
citizens on foot, citizens on horseback. 

Wm. Hay, Jr., John Adams, 

J. G. Gamble, Gab. Ralston, 



St. John's Church, on Richmond Hill, is the oldest colonial place 
of worship in the town. It is preserved with religious care, and 
has been somewhat modernized by the addition of a tower. This 
church stands in the centre of a grave-yard, embosomed by trees, 
where all around in crowded hillocks are the mansions of the dead. 



312 HENRICO COUNTY. 

It was here, in the Virginia convention of '75, that Patrick Henry thundered against 
the common oppressor of America, and uttered that immortal sentence, " Give me lib. 
erty, or give me death .'" 

The celebrated Virginia convention of '88, that met to ratify the federal constitution, 
assembled within its walls. The transcendent talents engaged in its discussion, " tempted 
industry to give up its pursuits, and even dissipation its objects," for the high intellec- 
tual feast here presented. Among the crowd from far and near, who filled the hall, " no 
bustle, no sound was heard, save only a slight movement when some new speaker arose, 
whom they were all eager to see as well as to hear ; or when some master-stroke of elo- 
quence shot thrilling along their nerves, and extorted an involuntary and inarticulate 
murmur. Day after day was this banquet of the mind and the heart spread before them, 
with a delicacy and variety which could never cloy." Among its illustrious members 
were Madison, Marshall, and Monroe; and " there were those sages of other days, Pen- 
dleton and Wythe ; there was seen the Spartan vigor and compactness of George Nicho- 
las ; and there shone the radiant genius and sensibility of Grayson ; the Roman energy 
and the Attic wit of George Mason was there ; and there also the classic taste and 
harmony of Edmund Randolph ; ' the splendid conflagration' of the high-minded Innis ; 
and the matchless eloquence of the immortal Henry !" 

The medical department of Hampden Sidney College was established in the year 
1838, and has succeeded beyond the expectations of its most sanguine friends. The ne- 
cessity of an institution where the young men of Virginia might prosecute the study of 
medicine without incurring the expense of a winter's residence in a northern city, had 
long been keenly felt, and the projet was carried into effect by a few enterprising mem- 
bers of the faculty resident in Richmond. Unassisted by legislative appropriation, this 
college struggled nobly through an infancy of six years, and " now presents to the stu- 
dent of the healing-art advantages not to be surpassed by any other establishment in the 
Union." The hospitals of the penitentiary and almshouse are under the supervision of 
the professors ; and the most abundant opportunities for cUnical study are thus afforded. 
Attached to the college building is an extensive infirmary. The college building recently 
erected, is a fine specimen of the Egyptian style of architecture, admirably arranged for 
the purposes of lecture and dissection. The following is the faculty : — Augustus L. 
Warner, M. D., Dean of the faculty, John Cullen, M. D., Jeffries Wyman, M. D., S. 
Maupin, M. D., L. W. Chamberlayne, M. D., R. L. Bohannan, M. D. 

St. Vincent's College, under the control of the Catholic clergy, is pleasantly situated 
about a mile east of the city. The Rev. Bishop Whelan is president. There is a very 
respectable number of students, who attend mass every morning at the chapel in Rich- 
mond. 

Richmond College, a Baptist institution, was incorporated by act of legislature 
in the year 1832. The Rev. Robert Ryland is president of the institution. It contains 
five or six professors, and about one hundred students. The buildings are delightfully 
situated, about a mile west of the city, on the Fredericksburg rail-road. 

The Richmond Academy, Wm. Burk principal, is a school for the preparation of 
youth for college in the higher branches of classical and mathematical education. There 
are five teachers, and some ninety or one hundred pupils. The pupils are allowed the 
privilege of being enrblled in a corps of cadets, at their option, in which the exercises of 
drill and military tactics are taught by a competent professor. 

The Orphan Asylum is an institution under the direction of the " Ladies' Humane 
Association," for the education and support of female orphans. A large number of this 
unfortunate class are maintained there annually. A commodious and elegant building 
has been recently erected, out of a munificent bequest of the late Edmund Walls, Esq. 

There is also, in Richmond, a Lancasterian free school for the use of the poor. 



The following are slips cut from newspapers. The first was 
published a few years since, under the signature of C. C, and is a 
graphic sketch of the Virginia convention of 1829-30. The sec- 
ond is an inscription on a monument at Turkey island, in this 
county. The last is from the Virginia Gazette of August — , 1776 : 

Convention of Virginia. — I attended the debates of this body a fortnight. The capi- 
tol, in which the convention sat, is a fine building, nobly situated — more so than any 



HENRICO COUNTS. 313 

other I have seen in this country. Richmond is a picturesque place ; the James looks 
beautiful there in a spring morning ; the rocks and islands, and foaming rapids, and mur- 
muring falls, and floating mists, all light and glorious, under a clear blue sky. The 
convention boasted several men of distinction — Madison, Monroe, Giles, Marshall, Ran. 
dolph, Leigh, Tazewell, &c. Mr. Madison sat on the left of the speaker, Mr. Monroe 
on the right. Mr. Madison spoke once for half an hour ; but although a pin might have 
been heard to drop, so low was his tone, that from the gallery I could distinguish only 
one word, and that was, " Constitution." He stood not more than six feet from the 
speaker. When he rose, a great part of the members left their seats and clustered 
around the aged statesman, thick as a swarm of bees. Mr. Madison was a small man, 
of ample forehead, and some obliquity of vision, (I thought the effect probably of age,) 
his eyes appearing to be slightly introverted. His dress was plain ; his overcoat a faded 
brown surtout. Mr. Monroe was very wrinkled and weather-beaten — ungraceful in atti- 
tude and gesture, and his speeches only common-place. Mr. Giles wore a crutch — was 
then governor of the state. His style of delivery was perfectly conversational — no ges- 
ture, no effort ; but in ease, fluency, and tact, surely he had not there his equal ; his 
words were like honey pouring from an eastern rock. Judge Marshall, whenever he 
spoke, which was seldom, and only for a short time, attracted great attention. His ap- 
pearance was revolutionary and patriarchal. Tall, in a long surtout of blue, with a face 
of genius, and an eye of fire, his mind possessed the rare faculty of condensation ; he 
distilled an argument down to its essence. There were two parties in the house ; the 
western or radical, and the eastern or conservative. Judge Marshall proposed something 
in the nature of a compromise. John Randolph was remarkably deliberate, distinct, and 
emphatic. He articulated excellently, and gave the happiest effect to all he said. His 
person was frail and uncommon — his face pale and withered — but his eye radiant as a 
diamond. He owed, perhaps, more to his manner than to his matter ; and his mind was 
rather poetical than logical. Yet in his own peculiar vein, he was superior to any of 
his cotemporaries. Benjamin Watkins Leigh cut a distinguished figure in the conven- 
tion, as the leader of the lowland })arty. His diction is clear, correct, elegant, and might 
be safely committed to print just as spoken. Yet high as he stands, he is not perhaps in 
the highest rank of speakers. He never lightens, never thunders ; he can charm, he 
can convince, but he can hardly overwhelm. Mr. Tazewell I never saw up but once, for 
a moment, on a point of order ; a tall, fine-looking man. P. P. Barbour presided over 
the body with great dignity and ease. Of these seven extraordinary men, four have 
since died, to wit : Monroe, Giles, Randolph, and Marshall. Mr. Leigh is now a Uni- 
ted States senator, and Mr. Tazewell governor of Virginia. 



The foundation of this pillar was laid in the calamitous year 1771, when all the great 
rivers of this country were swept by inundations never before experienced ; which 
changed the face of nature, and left traces of their violence that will remain for ages. 



On Monday last, being court-day, the Declaration of Independenck was publicly 
proclaimed in the town of Richmond, before a large concourse of respectable freehold- 
ers of Henrico county, and upwards of 200 militia, who assembled on that grand occa- 
sion. It was received with universal shouts of joy, and re-echoed by three volleys of 
small-arms. The same evening the town was illuminated, and the members of the 
committee held a club, where many patriotic toasts were drunk. Although there were 
near one thousand people present, the whole was conducted with the utmost decorum, 
and the satisfaction visible in every countenance, sufiiciently evinces their determination 
to support it with their lives and fortunes. 

Now will America'a sons her fame increase, 

In arms and science, with glory, honor, and peace. 



" Edmund Randolph was an eminent lawyer, and a warm friend of the revolution. 
After having filled several honorable stations in the state, he was, in 1779, elected to a 
seat in Congress, and held it until 1782. In 1787, he was a member of the convention 
which formed the federal constitution, but voted against its adoption. The next year 
he was chosen governor of Virginia, and in 1789, was appointed attorney-general of the 
United^^ates ; and in 1794, secretary of state, which office he resigned the succeeding 
year. "&.e died Sept. 12th, 1813." His personal and intellectual characteristics are 
desorihe'd in the British Spy. 

40 



314 



HENRY COUNTV. 




" The old Stone House" Main-street. 



" The old Stone House," is situated on the northern side of Main- 
street, a few rods below the market. It is the oldest dwelling 
standing in Richmond, and among the first ever built in the town. 

It is the residence and property of Mrs. Elizabeth Welsh, and has been in the same 
family for six generations. Mr. Jacob Ege, her great-grandfather, was a native of Ger- 
many, who settled upon this spot when there were few or no inhabitants on the site of 
the town, and previous to the erection of Byrd's warehouse. Mr. Ege had originally 
intended to have settled further up the countr}', but was so well pleased with the place, 
that he toolc up some land for a garden, and built this house. When President Monroe 
was a young man, attending school in Richmond, he boarded here. Mr. Samuel Ege, 
the father of Mrs. Welsh, resided in this house during the revolution. At that time 
it was one of the best houses in Richmond. It has been honored by the visits of Wash- 
ington, Jefferson, Lafayette, Madison, Henry, and other distinguished personages. Thia 
part of the town was first settled, and it gradually extended to the capitol, which build- 
ing was commenced in 1780, and was several years in constructing. It was a ques- 
tion whether it should be on Richmond Hill, or where it now is. It was decided by a 
gentleman's giving all the land included in the capitol square. 

When the British, under Arnold, invaded Richmond in 1781, Mr. Ege was absent on 
duty, as a commissary in the American army. The first hi^ wife (Mrs. Welsh's 
mother) knew of their approach, was the seeing a body of their cavalry galloping down 
Richmond Hill, then much steeper than at present. She described it as the most beau- 
tiful sight she ever witnessed. One of their officers quartered with her. The enemy 
broke open the stores, and emptied the liquors and provisions into the gutters. The 
spirits ran into the creek and gutters. The cows and hogs, having partaken of the 
liquid, were seen staggering about the streets. 



HENRY. 

Henry was formed in 1776, from Pittsylvania, and named in 
honor of Patrick Henry. It is in form approaching a square of 
about 18 miles on a side. Its extreme sw. angle is crossed by the 
two branches of Mary's River ; but the greater part of the area 
of the county is included in the valley of Smith's River, which en- 
ters the county near its nw. angle, and forms a junction with the 



ISLE OP WIGHT COUNTY. 315 

Dan near its se. angle. Tobacco, Indian corn, oats, and wheat, 
are the principal staples. Pop. in 1840, whites 4,243, slaves 2,852, 
free colored 240 ; total, 7,335. 

Martinsville, the county-seat, lies near the n. bank of Smith's 
River, about 70 miles sw. of Lynchburg, and 194 miles from Rich- 
mond. It is but a small village, situated on a beautiful eminence, 
commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country, and 
well supplied with excellent springs. 



ISLE OF WIGHT. 

Isle op Wight was one of the eight original shires into which 
Virginia was divided in 1634. Its name originally was Warros- 
quyoake shire, which it retained three years only, when its present 
one was given to it. The county is 37 miles long, with a mean 
width of 11 : it has many creeks and swamps upon its surface, and 
a great variety of soil, though it is generally thin and sandy. 
Pop. in 1840, whites 4,918, slaves 3,786, free colored 1,268 ; total, 
9,972. 

Smithfield is in the northern part of the county, 65 miles south- 
easterly from Richmond, 15 above Hampton Roads, and 3 miles 
from James River. It lies on an elevated bank on the margin of 
Pagan creek, a bold and navigable stream, commanding a beauti- 
ful view of both land and water scenery — the country for 10 miles 
on the opposite bank of the James is in full view. This town was 
established in February, 1752, ten years after the founding of 
Richmond. Arthur Smith, Esq., the original owner of the land, 
had then laid it out into streets and lots, and being " an healthy 
place, and open to trade and navigation," it had begun to be built 
and settled upon. By the provisions of the act, Robert Burwell, 
Arthur Smith, William Hodsden, James Baker, James Dunlop, 
James Arthur, and Joseph Bridger, gentlemen, were appointed 
trustees. Smithfield at present contains 10 or 12 stores, 1 Episco- 
palian, 1 Baptist, and 1 Methodist church, and a population of 
about 1000. The village is ornamented with shade-trees ; and the 
numerous porches to the dwellings impress the stranger favorably 
as to the social and neighborly habits of its people. Several ves- 
sels sail from Smithfield with the exports of the county. Among 
these is bacon, cured here, which has long been celebrated, and 
commands the preference in all markets. Mayfield is a small vil- 
lage in the western part of the county. 

Within an hour's ride from Smithfield, near the road to Suffolk, 
in the depths of the forest, stands an ancient church in ruins. It 
is alike an object of interest from its secluded situation, and its 
great antiquity. We have before us a communication from a highly 
respectable gentleman of this vicinity, which gives strong evidence 
that it was built in the reign of Charles I., between the years 1630 



316 



JACKSON COUNTY. 



and 1635. Tradition, too, states that it was the second church 
erected in Virginia. The brick, lime, and timber, were imported 
from England. The timber is English oak, and was framed be- 




Ancient Church, near Smithfield. 

fore shipment. The whole structure was built in the most sub- 
stantial manner ; and even now, the wood-work, where not exposed 
to rain, is perfectly sound, and the mortar sufficiently hard to strike 
fire when in collision with steel. The structure is of brick, has a 
lofty tower, and is in good preservation. Its walls are overrun with 
a delicate net- work of vines. 

In its day, it was a splendid edifice. One window, of about 25 
feet in height, was composed of painted glass, representing scrip- 
tural subjects. It was probably abandoned about the period of the 
American revolution, when the Episcopal church, for a time, be- 
came nearly extinct in Virginia. Within the last twenty-five years 
it has been temporarily occupied by a sect called O'Kellyites. 
There is a project, which may be carried into effect, to repair it. If 
successful, generations yet unborn will meet within its time-hal- 
lowed walls, where, even now, more than two centuries have 
elapsed since their forefathers first raised the hymn of praise to 
the living God. 



JACKSON. 

Jackson was formed in 1831, from Mason, Kanawha, and Wood : 
it5 length is 33, and its mean breadth 24 miles. The surface is 



JAMES CITY COUNTY. 



317 



hilly, and the soil well adapted to grazing. The bottom lands on 
Mill creek and its branches are of the first quality. From the 
interior of the county, the principal exports are cattle and pork ; 
along the Ohio, which bounds it on the west, the people export 
large quantities of staves, hoop-poles, and lumber of all kinds. 
Pop. in 1840, whites 4,803, slaves 87; total, 4,890. 

Ripley, the county-seat, lies 336 miles northwesterly from Rich- 
mond, and 12 from the Ohio River, on the Great Mill creek, at its 
confluence with Sycamore creek. Although but recently estab- 
lished, it is a thriving village, containing 2 mercantile stores, and 
about 30 dwellings. Ravens wood, 10 miles ne. of Ripley, on the 
Ohio, contains 1 church, 1 store, 1 steam saw-mill, and about 15 
dwellings. 



JAMES CITY. 

^ James City was one of the eight original shires into which 
Virginia was divided in 1634. It has York River on its northern, 
and the James on its southern boundary. Its length is 23 miles, 
mean breadth 8 miles. Pop., whites 1,325, slaves 1,947, free 
colored 507 ; total, 3,779. 




Ruins at Jamestown. 

Jamestown, the first settlement in British America, was settled 
by Capt. John Smith and his companions. May 13th, 1607. The 
site is a point of land projecting into the James. The water is 
gaining on the shore, and the time may arrive when the waves 
will roll over it. Of this deeply interesting spot, little remains but 
a church-yard, and the tower of an ancient church — a venerable 
memento of antiquity, carrying back the mind of the traveller, as 



318 JAMES CITY COUNTY. 

he hurries by in a passing steamer, to scenes long since vanished 
" down time's lengthening way." How appropriate and beautiful 
are the reflections of the British Spy at this spot : 

It is difficult [says he] to look at this venerable steeple, surrounded as it is with these 
awful proofs of the mortality of man, without exclaiming, in the pathetic solemnity of 
our Shakspeare, 

" The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces, 
The solemn temples, the great globe itself, 
Yea, all which it inherits, shall dissolve ; 
And, like this insubstantial pageant laded, 
Leave not a wreck behind." 

Whence, my dear S , arises the irrepressible reverence and tender affection 

with which I look at this broken steeple ? Is it that my soul, by a secret, subtle pro- 
cess, invests the mouldering ruin with her own powers ; imagines it a fellow-being ; a 
venerable old man, a Nestor, or an Ossian, who has witnessed and survived the ravages 
of successive generations, the companions of his youth, and of his maturity, and now 
mourns his own solitary and desolate condition, and hails their spirits in every passing 
cloud ? Whatever may be the cause, as I look at it, I feel my soul drawn forward as 
by the cords of gentlest sympathy, and involuntarily open my lips to offer consolation to 
the drooping pile. 

Where, my S , is the busy, bustling crowd which landed here two hundred 

years ago ? Where is Smith, that pink of gallantry, that flower of chivalry ? I fancy 
that I can see their first slow and cautious approach to the shore ; their keen and vigi- 
lant eyes piercing the forest in every direction, to detect the lurking Indian, with his 
tomahawk, bow and arrow. Good heavens ! what an enterprise ! how full of the most 
fearful perils ! and yet how entirely profitless to the daring men who personally undertook 
and achieved it ! Through what a series of the most spirit-chilling hardships had they 
to toil ! — How often did they cast their eyes to England in vain ! and with what delusive 
hopes, day after day, did the little famished crew strain their sight to catch the white 
sail of comfort and relief ! But day after day the sun set, and darkness covered the 
earth ; but no sail of comfort or relief came. How often in the pangs of hunger, sick- 
ness, solitude, and disconsolation, did they think of London ; her shops, her markets 
groaning under the weight of plenty ; her streets swarming with gilded coaches, bustling 
hacks, with crowds of lords, dukes, and commons, with healthy, busy, contented faces 
of every description ; and, among them, none more healthy, or more contented, than 
those of their ungrateful and improvident directors ! But now — where are they all ? 
the little famished colony which landed here, and the many-colored crowd of London — 

where are they, my dear S ? Gone, where there is no distinction ; consigned to 

the common earth. Another generation succeeded them ; which, just as busy and as 
bustling as that which fell before it, has sunk down into the same nothingness. Another, 
and yet another billow, has rolled on, each emulating its predecessor in height ; towering 
for its moment, and curling its foaming honors to the clouds ; then roaring, breaking, and 
perishing on the same shore. 

It is not known, precisely, when the church, the tower of which 
remains, was built. A church was erected very soon after its first 
settlement, which the Westover ms. says " cost no more than £50." 
The following extracts from Smith's History, will throw some 
light upon the subject : 

And so we returned all well to lames towne, where this new supply being lodged with 
the rest, accidentally fired their quarters, and so the towne, which being but thatched 
with reeds, the fire was so fierce as it burnt their pallisado's, (though eight or ten yards 
distant,) with their armes, bedding, apparell, and much priuate prouision. Good Master 
Hunt, our preacher, lost all his liberary, and all he had but the cloathes on his backe : 
yet none neuer heard him repine at his losse. This happned in the winter, in that 
extreame frost, 1607. — Smith, book 3, {Richmond edition,) p. 168. 

The spring approaching, and the ship departing, Mr. Scrivener and Captaine Smith 
divided betwixt them the rebuilding lames towne ; the repairing our pallisadoes ; the 
cutting downe trees ; preparing our fields ; planting our come, and to rebuild our church, 
and to recover our store-house. All men thus busie at their severall labors, Master NeU 
son arrived with his lost Phoenix. — Book 3, p. 170. 



JAMES CITY COUNTY. 319 

The PhcEnix arrived, says Sparks, in his Life of Smith, in the 
spring of 1608. Smith says, under the chapter headed " The 
gouernment deuolued to Captaine Samuel Argall 1617 :" 

In March they set saile, 1617, [from England,] and in May he [Argall] arrived at 
lames towne, where hee was kindly entertained, by Captaine Yearley and his companie, 
in a martiall order, whose right-hand file was led by an Indian. In lames towne he 
found but fiue or six houses, the church downe, the pallizado's broken, the bridge in 
pieces, the well of fresh water spoiled, the storehouse vsed for the church ; the market- 
place and streets, and all other spare places planted with tobacco ; the saluages as fre. 
quent in tlieir houses as themselues, whereby they become expert in our armes, and had 
a great many in their custodie and possession ; the colony dispersing all about, planting 
tobacco. 

From the above, it is evident that previous to 1617, or 10 years 
after the first settlement of Jamestown, there were two churches 
destroyed. This tower now standing may have belonged to the 
second church, and survived its destruction. It could not have 
been part of the first, for that " cost no more than £50 ;" or it 
may have been the tower of a third. We can only surmise that 
the tower has been standing about 230 years. It is unnecessary 
to detail further the early history of Jamestown, as it is delineated 
in the general history of Virginia in this volume. 



Two actions were fought in this vicinity in the revolution. The 
first was June 25th, 1781, and took place at Spencer's ordinary, in 
the forks of the roads leading, to Jamestown and Williamsburg. 
The subjoined account is from Girardin : 

Lafayette, attentive to the movements of his adversary, no sooner observed hia 
retreat from Richmond, than he himself moved onward ; displaying, however, the same 
salutary circumspection as before, and uniformly keeping his main body at the distance 
of about twenty miles from the foe. Comwallis reached Williamsburg on the 25th of 
June. During his halt in that place, hearing that the Americans had some boats and 
stores on Chickahominy River, he charged Lieut.-Col. Simcoe with the destruction of 
these. The latter, attended by his corps and a party of yagers, easily performed the 
task. Lafayette, after passing through Richmond and New Kent Court House in pur- 
suit of Comwallis, had taken post on Tyre's plantation, about twenty miles from Wil- 
liamsburg. There he was informed, by his exploring parties, of Simcoe's expedition to 
the Chickahominy, and immediately detached Lieut.-Col. Butler, of the Pennsylvania 
line, with orders to strike the British partisan on his return. Butler was well known for 
his skill and courage. His achievements at Saratoga had placed him by the side of 
Morgan, and he had uniformly and gloriously maintained this high ground. The con- 
fidence of Lafayette could not be better placed. On the present occasion, where only a 
partial engagement was sought, the detachment confided to him consisted, besides his 
continentals, of the rifle-corps under the Majors Call and Willis, and about one hun- 
dred and twenty horsemen. This last force was commanded by Major M'Pherson, of 
Pennsylvania. He mounted some infantry behind his dragoons, and, seeking Simcoe 
witli unusual ardor and speed, overtook him near Spencer's plantation, six or seven miles 
above Williamsburg. A sharp conflict immediately ensued, in which the British yagers 
and the American cavalry were alternately repulsed. The arrival of the riflemen, 
headed by Call and Willis, gave to the action additional fierceness ; but the superiority 
of the hostile cavalry, compelled Butler's van to fall back upon the body of continentals 
stationed in the rear. Here the contest ended ; Simcoe resuming his retreat, and Butler 
not choosing to pursue him because he was informed that Comwallis, upon hearing the first 
fire, had ordered his main body to the support of the returning detachment. The ofiicial 
accounts of the two generals widely differ as to the loss sustained by each party in this 
action. Lafayette states the enemy's loss at sixty killed and one hundred wounded. 
Comwallis says that three officers and thirty privates only were killed and wounded. 
Among the killed, a Lieutenant Jones seems to have excited peculiar regret. The loss 
of the Americans in killed and wounded has not been recorded ; but if we credit the 



320 JAMES CITY COUNTY. 

statement of the British commander, three of their ofEcers, with twenty-eight privates, 
were taken prisoners. 

When Cornwallis first arrived in this vicinity, he prepared to 
cross over the James, at Jamestown, and march to Portsmouth. 
After halting nine days at Williamsburg, his lordship advanced, on 
the 4th of July, 1781, to Jamestown Island. The 5th and 6th were 
employed in transporting his baggage, &c., while the main army 
still continued in their encampment. Lafayette having received 
false information that only a covering party remained on this side 
of the river with Cornwallis, determined to make an attack, the 
success of which was deemed infallible. The events are thus 
detailed by Girardin : 

The British commander received information of Lafayette's approach about noon on 
the 6th, and took every measure in his power to confirm the belief that his rear-guard 
only now remained. He drew up the major part of his army in compact order on the 
main land, deployed a few troops on the island so as to magnify their apparent numbers, 
drew in his light parties, and directed his piquets to suffer themselves to be insulted and 
driven in. By this coincidence of circumstances calculated to delude, an error was per- 
petuated which exposed the American army in Virginia to the most imminent peril of 
utter annihilation. 

About three in the afternoon, Lafayette's army began to move from Greenspring. 
This late hour was judiciously and happily fixed upon. If only a strong hostile party 
should be found at Jamestown, the remaining part of the day would suffice for its 
destruction ; if, on the contrary, the main body of Cornwallis's troops should be encoun- 
tered, the intervening shades of the approaching night would shield the Americans from 
ruin. In their advance to the enemy, not more than one mile and a half distant, Lafay- 
ette's troops had to pass over a causeway, extending from the house at Greenspring to 
the Williamsburg road, through a tract of low and sunken ground impracticable to either 
infantry or cavalry. The time consumed in the passage of this defile retarded the 
approach of the Americans to the British till near sunset. The rifle corps under Call and 
Willis, and a patrol of dragoons, formed the front of the assailants. These were fol- 
lowed by the cavalry of Armand and Mercer's troop, headed by Major M'Pherson. 
The continental infantry, under Wayne, supported the whole. Steuben was left at 
Greenspring with the militia, forming a reserve obviously too remote from the acting 
corps for any efficient purpose. When the advancing column reached the road, parties 
of riflemen were thrown on its flanks, while the cavalry continued to move in front. 
The action was soon commenced by a desultory fire of the enemy's yagers. M'Pherson 
and Mercer being then ordered to take the command of the rifle corps, rapidly led them 
on to the attack, and drove in the hostile piquets, with much confusion and some loss 
on the side of the British. This advantage was keenly pursued by the American rifle- 
men, who, taking post in a ditch covered by a rail fence, recommenced their fire with 
considerable effect. Two battalions of continental infantry, led on by Majors Galvan and 
Willis, supported by two pieces of artillery under the direction of Captain Savage, now 
joined the riflemen,, and assisted them in successfully maintaining for some time a most 
arduous conflict against the enemy, who now advanced in a body headed by Lieut.-Col. 
Yorke on the right, and Lieut.-Col. Dundas on the left. The superiority of the foe, 
however, was too great to be long resisted : the riflemen first gave way, then the cavalry, 
and finally the light infantry. They all fell back upon Wayne, as did also Capt. Savage 
with his two field-pieces. The brave leader of the Pennsylvania line had drawn up his 
men in compact order, under cover of an adjacent wood. He repeatedly directed them 
to charge the enemy with fixed bayonets, but local circumstances prevented the execu- 
tion of this order, and allowed only a close and murderous fire. Lafayette, who by this 
time had discovered his mistake, and became convinced that he had to contend with the 
main body of the British army, observing that Wayne was nearly outflanked on both 
sides, ordered him to retreat to the second line of continentals, drawn up about half a 
mile in his rear. The darkness of the night favored this retreat. It was, however, 
found necessary to abandon the two field-pieces ; after which the morass in front of 
Greenspring was recrossed, and the acting corps, together with the reserve, proceeded 
to a more remote and safer encampment. Whether from his apprehension of some am- 
buscade, or from what was with him a more powerful consideration than fear, a desire 



JAMES CITY COUNTY. 321 

of quickly transmitting to Sir Henry Clinton the required assistance, Cornwallis attempted 
no pursuit, but in the course of the night crossed over into Jamestown Island, and soon 
afterwards proceeded to Portsmouth. 

In this affair, one hundred and eighteen of the continental troops, among whom were 
ten officers, were killed, wounded, or taken. The British state their loss, both in killed 
and wounded, at five officers and seventy privates. 

Williamsburg, the seat of justice for the county, is 58 miles 
from Richmond, 12 from Yorktown, 68 from Norfolk, and 7 from 
Jamestown. It is finely situated, on a level plain, between the 
York and James, immediately on the division line between James 
City and York counties. It is laid out in parallel streets, with a 
square in the centre of several acres, containing the county build- 
ings. Through it runs the principal street, which is very wide, 
and about a mile in length ; at one end of which is the college, 
and at the other the ruins of the old capitol. 

Williamsburg, in its most palmy days, contained only a 
population of about 2,000. It has at present 1 Episcopal, 1 Bap- 
tist, and 1 Methodist church, and about 1,600 inhabitants. The 
Eastern Lunatic Asylum is located here. It consists of a lofty 
and extensive pile of brick buildings, enclosed by a wall, in a 
pleasant area of several acres. The number of patients is gen- 
erally over one hundred ; and the institution is ably conducted, 
under the superintendence of Dr. John M. Gait. 

There is an air of repose about this village city, so interest- 
ing from its historic associations. It is the oldest incorpo- 
rated town in Virginia. This immediate vicinity was first known 
as the Middle Plantations, and the town was first settled in 1632, 
from the adjoining settlements, principally from Jamestown. In 
1698, the seat of government was removed here from that place. 
From a work* published a short time after, we make the follow- 
ing extract, principally relative to this place : 

The first metropolis, .Tamestown, was built in the most convenient place for trade, 
and security against the Indians ; but often received much damage, being twice burnt 
down, after which it never recovered its perfection — consisting at present of nothing but 
abundance of brick rubbish and three or four good inhabited houses, though the parish is of 
pretty large extent, but less than others. When the state-house and prison were burnt 
down, Governor Nicholson removed the residence of the governor, with the meetings of the 
general courts and general assemblies, to Middle Plantation, seven miles from James- 
town, in a healthier and more convenient place, and freer from the annoyance of mos- 
chetoes. Here he laid out the city of Williamsburg — in the form of a cipher, made of 
VV and M — on a ridge at the head springs of two great creeks, one running into 
James, and the other into York River, which are each navigable for sloops within a 
mile of the town ; at the head of which creek are good landings, and lots laid out, and 
dwelling-houses and warehouses built ; so that this town is most conveniently situated, 
in the middle of the lower part of Virginia, commanding two noble rivers, not above 
four miles from either, and is much more commodious and healthful than if built upon 
a river. 

Public buildings here of note are, the college, the capitol, the governor's house, and 
the church. 

The college front, which looks due east, is double, and is 136 feet long. It is a 
lofty pile of brick buildings, adorned with a cupola. At the north end runs back a large 
wing, which is a handsome hall, answerable to which the chapel is to be built ; and 

* " The Present State of Virginia, by Hugh Jones, A. M., chaplain to the honorable Assembly, and 
lately minister of Jamestown, &c., in Virginia." This work is a small 12mo. of about 150 pages. It is 
very scarce. The only copies we have seen are in the libraries of Gov. Tazewell, and Peter Force, Esq, 
of Washington city. 

41 



322 JAMES CITY COUiNTY. 

there is a spacious piazza on the west side, from one wing to the other. It is approached 
by a good walk, and a grand entrance by steps, witli good courts and gardens about it, 
with a good house and apartments for the Indian master and his scholars, and out- 
houses ; and a large pasture enclosed like a park, with about 150 acres adjoining, for 
occasional uses. 

The building is beautiful and commodious, being first modelled by Sir Christopher 
Wren, adapted to the nature of the country by the gentlemen there ; and since it was 
burnt down it has been rebuilt, nicely contrived, altered, and adorned, by the ingenious 
direction of Governor Spotswood ; and is not altogether unliko Chelsea Hospital. 

This royal foundation was granted and established by charter, by King William 
and Queen Mary, and endowed by them with some thousand acres of land, with duties 
upon furs and skins, and a penny a pound for all tobacco transported from Virginia and 
Maryland to the other plantations ; to which have been made several additional bene- 
factions : as that handsome establishment of Mr. Boyle, for the education of Indians, 
with the many contributions of the country, especially a late one of jClOOO to buy 
negroes for the college use and service. 

The society is a corporation, established for a president, six masters, or professors, 
with a hundred scholars, more or less. 

The salary of the president, Mr. James Blair, has been lately ordered to be reduced 
from £\b^ to £100 per annum. 

The salary of the fellows — one of which I have been for several years — is .£80 per 
annum each ; with 20s. entrance, and 20s. a year for pupilage, for each scholar. The 
payments are sometimes made in current Spanish money, and sometimes in sterling bills. 

When the college shall be completely finished, and scholarships founded, then is the 
trust to be transferred from the trustees to the president and masters ; but at present it 
is managed by a certain number of governors or visitors — one of which is yearly 
chosen rector — appointed first by the trustees, elected out of the principal and worthiest 
inhabitants. These appoint a person to whom they grant several privileges and allow- 
ances, to board and lodge the masters and scholars at an extraordinary cheap rate. 
This oflice is at present performed in the neatest and most regular and plentiful manner 
by Mrs. Mary Slith, a gentlewoman of great worth and discretion, in good favor with 
the gentry, and great esteem and respect with the common people. 

The Indians who are upon Mr. Boyle's foundation have now a handsome apartment 
for themselves and their master, built near the college. The young Indians, procured 
from the tributary or foreign nations with much difficulty, were formerly boarded or 
lodged in the town, where abundance of them used to die, either through sickness, 
change of provision, and way of life ; or, as some will have it, often for want of proper 
necessaries, and due care taken with them. Those of them that have escaped well, and 
been taught to read and write, have, for the most part, returned to their home, some 
with, and some without baptism, where they follow their own savage customs and hea- 
thenish rites. A few of them have lived as servants among the Enghsh, or loitered and 
idled away their time in laziness and mischief. But it is a great pity that more care is 
not taken of them after they are dismissed from school. They have admirable capaci- 
ties when their humors and tempers are perfectly understood. 

Fronting the college, at near its whole breadth, is extended a whole street, mathemat- 
ically straight — for the first design of the town's form is changed to a much better — 
just three quarters of a mile in length, at the other end of which stands the Capitol, a 
noble, beautiful, and commodious pile, as any of its kind, built at the cost of the late 
queen, and by direction of the governor. In this is tlie secretary's office, with all the 
courts of law and justice, held in the same form, and near the same manner, as in Eng- 
land, except the ecclesiastical courts. Here the governor and twelve counsellors sit as 
judges in the general courts, in April and October, whither trials and causes are re- 
moved from courts held at the court-houses, monthly, in every county, by a bench of 
justices and a county clerk. Here are also held the Oyer and Terminer courts, one in 
summer and the other in winter, added by the charity of the late queen, for the preven- 
tion of prisoners lying in jail above a quarter of a year before their trial. Here are also 
held court martials, by judges appointed on purpose for the trial of pirates; likewise 
courts of admiralty, for the trial of ships for illegal trade. The building is in the form 
of an H nearly ; the secretary's office and the general court taking up one side below 
stairs ; the middle being a handsome portico, leading to the clerk of the assembly's 
office, and the House of Burgesses on the other side ; which last is not unlike the House 
of Commons. In each wing is a good staircase, one leading to the council-chamber, 
where the governor and council sit in very great state, in imitation of the king and coun- 



JAMES CITY COUNTY. 323 

cil, or the lord chancellor and House of Lords. Over the portico is a large room where 
conferences are held, and prayers are read by the chaplain to the general assembly ; 
which office I have had the honor, for some years, to perform. At one end of this is a 
lobby, and near it is the clerit of the council's office ; and at the other end are several 
chambers for the committees of claims, privileges, and elections ; and over all these are 
several good offices for the receiver-general, for the auditor, and treasurer, &c. ; and 
upon the middle is raised a lofty cupola with a large clock. 

The whole is surrounded with a neat area, encompassed with a good wall, and near 
it is a strong sweet prison for criminals ; and on the other side of the opeu court another 
for debtors, when any are removed from the other prisons in each county ; but such 
prisoners are very rare, the creditors being there generally very merciful, and the laws 
so favorable for debtors that some esteem them too indulgent. 

The cause of my being so particular in describing the capital, is because it is the best 
and most commodious pile of its kind that I have seen or heard of. 

Because the state-house, James Town, and the college have been burnt down, there- 
fore is prohibited in the capital, the use of fire, candies, and tabacco. 

Parallel to the main street mentioned is a street on each side of it, but neither quite 
so long nor so broad ; and at proper distances are small cross-streets, for the convenience 
of communication. Near the middle stands the church, which is a large strong piece 
of brick- work in the form of a cross, nicely regular and convenient, and adorned as the 
best churches in London. This from the parish is called Bruton church, where I had 
the favor of being lecturer. Near this is the large octagon tower, which is the maga- 
zine, or repository of arms and ammunition, standing far from any house except James 
Town court-house ; for the town is half in James Town county, and half in York 
county. Not far from hence is a large area for a market-place ; near which is a play- 
house and good bowhng-green. 

From the church runs a street northward, called Palace-street ; at the other end of 
which stands the palace, or governor's house, a magnificent structure, built at the public 
expense, finished and beautified with gates, fine gardens, offices, walks, a fine canal, 
orchards, (fcc, with a great number of the best arms, nicely posited, by the ingenious 
contrivance of the most accomplished Colonel Spotswood. This likewise has the orna- 
mental addition of a good cupola or lantern, illuminating most of the town upon birth- 
nights, and other nights of occasional rejoicings. At tlie capital, at public times, may 
be seen a great number of handsom, well-dressed, compleat gentlemen ; and at the gov- 
ernor's house, upon birth-nights, and at balls and assemblies, I have seen as fine an ap- 
pearance, as good diversion, and as splendid entertainments in Governor Spotswood's 
time, as I have seen anywhere elsd. 

These buildings here described are justly reputed the best in all English America, and 
are exceeded by few of their kind in England 

Williamsburg is now incorporated and made a market-town, and governed by a 
mayor and alderman ; and is well stocked with rich stores of all sorts of goods, and 
well furnished with the best provisions and liquors. Here dwell several very good fami- 
lies, and more reside here at their own houses in public times. They live in the same 
neat manner, dress after the sarne modes, and behave themselves exactly as the gentry 
in London ; most families of any note having a coach, chariot, berlin, or chaise. The 
number of artificers here is daily augmented, as are the convenient ordinaries or iims, 
for the accommodation of strangers. The servants here, as in other parts of the county, 
are English, Scotch, Irish, or negroes. The town is regularly laid out in lots or square 
portions, sufficient each for a house and garden, so that they don't build contiguous, 
whereby may be prevented the spreading danger of fire ; and this also affi)rds a free 
passage for the air, which is very grateful in violent hot weather. 

Here, as in other parts, they build with brick, but most commonly with timber lined 
with ceiling, and cased with feather-edged plank, painted with white-lead and oil, cov- 
ered with shingles of cedar, &c., tarred over at first ; with a passage generally 
through the middle of the house, for an air-draught in summer. Thus their houses are 
lasting ; dry and warm in winter, and cool in summer ; especially if there be windows 
enough to draw the air. Thus they dwell comfortably, genteelly, pleasantly, and plen- 
tiful, in this delightful, healthful, and, I hope, thriving city of Williamsburg. 

The foregoing description of Williamsburg, published 120 years 
since, in many points resembles it at the present time. From then 
.until 1779, when the seat of government was removed to Richmond, 
the town was the centre of the fashion, wealth, and learning of 



324 



JAMES CITY COUNTY. 



the " Old Dominion ;" the influence of which has left its impress 
upon the place, and the manners and characteristics of its present 
inhabitants. Being then " the residence of the governor — the im- 
mediate representative of the sovereign — the royal state in which 
he lived, the polite and brilliant circle which he always had about 
him, diffused their influence through the city and the circumja- 
cent country, and filled Williamsburg with a degree of emulation, 



-:; 


--;— =^._^;^gg^=^- 


- -.. jrr:^==^'" .. --^--^^ ' -^ 


---— TT^- .-^ — - --— - — — ■ - 


-z:-^5==f"--^-'^^^=?^"-^^ ,-^-^^HE^=^-^^ 


-?^i=£=^SH3g 


• 1 


^p^^^§ 


^^^^^^te^^rf 


i ^^-^^^^ 


^^^^^^^^^^p 


^^S^^^^Ths B i il ^ 


|I|'b n b b mi o ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 


p^l 


H^^^^^^' iBi!EI| 


||aiiBi a ^^^Hfl liB 


^M 




^^^^^^^^^^B 


^^^^^^H 


^^^^Wi^ —^ = 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^M 


/7. , :-j:'r^-' -——'^^"^^^ ==-=^^=3ss;^s^__.=^^;js=.,J7rs2^l 



William and Mary College, Williamsburg. 

taste, and elegance, of which we can form no conception by the 
appearances of the present day. During the session of the House 
of Burgesses, too, these stately modes of life assumed their richest 
forms ; the town was filled with a concourse of visitors, as well 
as citizens, attired in their gayest colors ; the streets exhibited a 
continual scene of animated and glittering tumult ; the houses, of 
costly profusion." 

Several of the buildings above described are yet standing: 
among which is the church and the octagon tower known as the 
" old magazine." In the church, a few years since, was to be 
seen the gubernatorial pew of Sir Alexander Spotswood, governor 
of Virginia from 1710 to 1723. It was raised from the floor, cov- 
ered with a canopy, around the interior of which his name was 
written in gilt letters. 

William and Mary College, now the principal support of the 
town, is, with the exception of Harvard University, the oldest lit- 
erary institution in the Union. It is distinguished for the very 
large proportion of its graduates who have arisen to eminence ; 
some of whom have held the highest stations in the nation. 

" The college library contains somewhat less than four thousand 
volumes, of which many are theological. Some of the books were 
presented by Robert Dinwiddle, and have his coat of arms aflixed, 
the crest, an eagle, and the motto, ' Ubi llbertas, ihi pairia.' In 



JAMES CITY COUNTY. 325 

Others was inscribed the name of Major-General Alexander Spots- 
wood. Some were the gift of the former presidents of the college, 
and others of the Assembly of Virginia. Catesby's Natural His- 
tory of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, was given (as 
appears from a note on the first page, in the hand-writing of 
Thomas Jefferson) on condition that it should never go out of the 
college. This work was printed London, 1754, with colored 
plates, in two volumes folio, in English and French." 

The college was founded in 1692, in the reign of William and 
Mary, who granted it a donation of 20,000 acres of land. 

In 1793, the Assembly ordered that it should be built at Wil- 
liamsburg. " The college received a penny a lb. duty on certain 
tobaccos exported from Virginia and Maryland, which had been 
levied by the statute of the 25th of Charles II. The Assembly 
also gave it, by temporary laws, a duty on liquors imported, and 
skins and furs exported. From these resources it received upwards 
of 3000 pounds, communibus annis. The buildings are of brick, 
and sufficiently large for the accommodation of 100 students. By 
its charter, dated the 8th of February, 1692, it was placed under 
the direction of not less than twenty visitors, and to have a pres- 
ident and six professors, who were incorporated. It was formerly 
allowed a representative in the General Assembly. Under this 
charter, a professorship of the Greek and Latin languages, a pro- 
fessorship of mathematics, one of moral philosophy, and two of 
divinity were established. To these were annexed, for a sixth 
professorship, a considerable donation, by Mr. Boyle of England, 
for the instruction of the Indians and their conversion to Chris- 
tianity. This was called the professorship of Brafferton, from an. 
estate of that name in England purchased with the moneys given. 
The admission of the learners of Latin and Greek filled the college 
with children. This rendering it disagreeable, and degrading to 
young men already prepared for entering on the sciences, they 
were discouraged from resorting to it, and thus the school for ma- 
thematics and moral philosophy, which might have been of some 
service, became of very little The revenues, too, were exhausted 
in accommodating those who came only to acquire the rudiments 
of science. After the revolution, the visitors, having no power to 
change those circumstances in the constitution of the college, 
which were fixed by the charter, and being, therefore, confined in 
the number of professorships, undertook to change the object of 
the professorships. They excluded the two schools for divinity, 
and that for the Greek and Latin languages, and substituted others. 
At present it has nineteen acting visitors, and is under the super- 
intendency of a president and five professors, embracing the pro- 
fessor of humanity, who has charge of the classical department. 
There is also a law department in this institution ;" and in the town 
a flourishing male and female boarding-school. 

The Rev. James Blair, D. D., was named president of William 
and Mary College in the charter, but is said not to have entered 



•826 JAMES CITY COUNTY. 

upon the duties of his office until 1729 ; he died in 1742, and was 
succeeded by the Rev. William Stith, (author of a history of Vir- 
ginia,) who died in ] 750. The Rev. James Madison, D. D., (Bishop 
of Va.,) was president from 1777 to 1812. His successors have 
been the Rev. W. H. Wilmer, Dr. J. Augustine Smith, Rev. Dr. 
Adam Empie, and Thomas R. Dew, A. M., the present incumbent. 
There were, in 1840, in the college 98 students ; in the law school 
32 students. 



In the beautiful square, fronting the college, stands the statue of 
Lord Botetourt, one of the colonial governors. It is much muti- 
lated, though still presenting a specimen of elegant sculpture. He 
appears in the court-dress of that day, with a short sword at his 
side. It was erected in 1774, at the expense of the colony, and 
removed in 1797 from the old capitol to its present situation. Its 
pedestal bears the following inscription : — 

The Right Honorable Norborne Berkley, Baron de Botetourt, his Majesty's late 
Lieutenant : and Governor-General of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia. Right 
side. — Deeply impressed with the warmest sense of gratitude for his Excellency's, the 
Right Honorable Lord Botetourt's, prudent and wise administration, and that the re- 
membrance of those many public and social virtues which so eminently adorned his 
illustrious character might be transmitted to posterity, the General Assembly of Virginia, 
on the XX. day of July, Ann. Dom., mdcclxxi. resolved with one united voice to erect 
this statue to his Lordship's memory. Let wisdom and justice preside in any country, 
the people must and will be happy. Left side. — America, behold your friend, who leav- 
ing his native country declined those additional honors which were there in store for 
him, that he might heal your wounds and restore tranquillity and happiness to this ex- 
tensive continent. With what zeal and anxiety he pursued these glorious objects, Vir- 
ginia thus bears her grateful testimony. 

Lord Botetourt was distinguished for love of piety and litera- 
ture. His arrival as governor of the colony, in Oct., 1768 — as 
is shown in the subjoined extract from the Virginia Gazette of that 
date — was greeted with public rejoicings becoming the loyal sub- 
jects of his majesty : — 

Last Tuesday evening arrived in Hampton Poads, in eight weeks from Portsmouth, 
the Rippon man-of-war, of 60 guns, Samuel Thompson, Esq., commander, having on 
board his Excellency, the Right Hon. Norborne Baron de Botetourt, his majesty's ' 
Lieut, and Gov.-General of this Colony and Dominion. Next morning his Excellency 
landed at Little England, and was saluted with a discharge of the cannon there. After 
tarrying a few hours and taking a repast, his Excellency set out about noon for this 
city, where he arrived about sunset. His Excellency stopped at the Capitol, and was 
received at the gate by his Majesty's Council, the Hon. the Speaker, the Attorney-Gene- 
ral, the Treasurer, and many other gentlemen of distinction, after which, being con- 
ducted to the Council Chamber and having his commissions read, was qualified to 
exercise his high office by taking the usual oaths. His Excellency then swore in the 
members of his Majesty's Council, after which he proceeded to the Raleigh Tavern, 
and supped there with his Majesty's Council. His Excellency retired about ten, and 
took up his lodgings at the palace, which had been put in order for his reception. Im- 
mediately upon his arrival the city was illuminated, and all ranks vied with each other 
in testifying their gratitude and joy, that a Nobleman of such distinguished merit and 
abilities is appointed to preside over and live among them. 



In the succeeding paper the following Ode was published :— 



JAMBS CITY COUNTY. 327 

Recitative. 

VIRGINIA, see, thy GOVERNOR appears ! 
The peaceful olive in his brow he wears ! 
Sound the shrill trumpets, beat the rattling drums ; 
From Great Britannia's isle his Lordship comes. 
Bid Echo from the waving woods arise, 
And joyful acclamations reach the skies ; 
Let the loud organs join their tuneful roar, 
And bellowing cannons rend the pebbled shore : 
Bid smooth James River catch the cheerful sound, 
And roll it to Virginia's utmost bound ; 
While Rappahannock and York's gliding stream, 
Swift shall convey the sweetly pleasing theme 
To distant plains, where pond'rous mountains rise, 
Whose cloud-capp'd verges meet the bending skies. 

The Lordly prize the Atlantic waves resign, 
And now, Virginia, now the blessing's. <Aine; 
His listening ears will to your trust attend, 
And be your Guardian, Governor, and Friend. 
Air. 
He comes: his Excellency comes, 

To cheer Virginian plains ! 
Fill your brisk bowls, ye loyal sons, 

And sing your loftiest strains. 
Be this your glory, this your boast. 
Lord Botetourt's the favorite toast ; 

Triumphant wreaths entwine ; 
Fill full your bumpers swiftly round, 
And make your spacious rooms rebound 
With music, joy, and wine. 

Recitative. 
Search every garden, strip the shrubby bowers. 
And strew his path with sweet autumnal flowers ! 
Ye virgins, haste, prep^ire the fragrant rose. 
And with triumphant laurels crown his brows. 
Duet. 
Enter Virgins with flowers, laurels, ^c. 
See, we've stript each flowery bed ; 
Here's laurels for his lordly head ; 
And while Virginia is his care. 
May he protect the virtuous fair. 
Air. 
Long may he live in health and peace. 
And ev'ry hour his joys increase. 
To this let ev'ry swain and lass 
Take the sparkling, flowing glass ; 
Then join the sprightly dance, and sing. 
Health to our Governor, and God save the King. 

Virgins 
Health to our Governor. 

Bass Solo. 
Health to our Governor. 

Chorus. 
Health to our Governor, and GOD save the KING ! 

Facing the public square is the house — shown on the right of 
the annexed view — in which, a few years since, resided Pres- 
ident Tyler. On the square stands the Old Magazine, built about 
120 years ago, and memorable as being the building from which 
Lord Dunmore, in 177 6, removed the powder belonging to the 



328 



JAMES CITY COUNTY. 



colony on board the Magdalen man-of-war, which arbitrary act 
threw the whole of Virginia into a state of ferment, and occa- 




The Old Magazine. 

sioned the first assembling of an armed force in the colony in op- 
position to royal authority. 

At the head of a small, but beautiful grassy court, called the 
Palace Green, are two small brick structures, the remains of the 
Palace of Lord Dunmore, the last of the colonial governors. That 
on the right was the office, and the one on the left the guard-house. 
The main building occupied the space between them ; it was of 
brick, 74 feet long, and 68 feet wide. Here Lord Dunmore resided 




Remains of Lord Dunmore's Palace. 

in great state, surrounded by the pomp and pageantry of vice- 
royalty. At that time the adjacent grounds, comprising 360 acres, 
were beautifully laid out, with carriage-roads winding through 



JAMES CITY COUNTY. 



329 



them. Numerous lindens were imported from Scotland and planted; 
one or two of which now remain, and are almost unrivalled in 
magnificence and beauty. The palace was accidentally destroyed 
by fire during its occupancy by some French troops, immediately 
after the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. 




The first building erected in Williamsburg for a capitol was 
burnt in the year 1746, and shortly after another was built, which 
in its turn was consumed by fire, in April, 1832. Of this structure, 
now known as the " old capitol," nothing remains but a few scat- 
tered bricks. Fortunately, we are enabled to present an engra- 
ving, from a drawing preserved by a lady of the place. Within 
its walls did the great and patriotic of Virginia's sons deliberate 
in the darkest period of the nation's history. There were those re- 
solves made, and that course of action pursued, which made Vir- 
ginia foremost in opposition to the arbitrary measures of Britain. 
It was there that Patrick Henry made his debut in the House of 
Burgesses, when, attired in a coarse apparel, with the air of " an 
obscure and an unpolished rustic," he arose and astonished all by 
" the rugged might and majesty of his eloquence," teaching " the 
proud aristocracy" of that body the superiority of native talent 
over the learning of schools and the glitter and assumptions of 
high life. It was there, also, that occurred that touching incident 
in the life of Washington, who, (says Wirt,) after closing his glorious 
career in the French and Indian war, was complimented by the 
speaker, Mr. Robinson, for his gallantry; but in such glowing terms, 
that when he arose to express his acknowledgments for the honor, 
he blushed, and stammered, and trembled, unable to give distinct 
utterance to a single syllable ; when the speaker, observing his 

42 



330 JAMES CITY COUNTY. 

trepidation, relieved him by a masterly stroke of address, saying 
with a conciliating smile, " Sit down, Mr. Washington ; your mod 
esty is equal to your valor, and that surpasses the power of any 
language that I possess." 

The " Old Raleigh Tavern" is yet occupied as a public-house ; 
over the portico of w^hich is the bust of Sir Walter Raleigh. It is 
memorable from being the place " where many important com- 
mittees of the legislature met, where some of our most distinguished 
patriots concerted measures for aiding in the arduous struggle for 
liberty, and where it is said Richard Henry Lee and others origi- 
nated the plan to establish corresponding committees throughout 
many or all of the colonies." 



The subjoined description of the characteristics of Virginians 
about 120 years since, is from the work of Hugh Jones, previously 
quoted. He appears pleased with every body and every thing 
around him, while the colonies more remote, instead of looming 
up brightly by " the enchantment of distance," are presented to his 
imagination in the most sombre and forbidding hues. The de- 
scription is a curiosity in its way, and is written in a quaint, hy- 
perbolical'style, quite amusing: 

Tiie habits, life, customs, computations, &c., of the Virg'lnians, are much the same 
as about London, which they esteem their home ; and for the most part, have con- 
temptible notions of England, and wrong sentiments of Bristol and the other outports, 
which they entertain from seeing and hearing the common dealers, sailors, and servants, 
that come from these towns, and the country-places in P^ngland and Scotland, whose 
language and manners are strange to them. For the planters, and even the native 
negroes, generally talk good English, without idiom or tone, and can discourse hand- 
somely on most common subjects. Conversing with persons belonging to trade and 
navigation from London, for the most part, they are much civilized, and wear the best 
of cloaths, according to their stations ; nay, sometimes too good for their circumstances, 
being for the generality comely, handsome persons, of good features and fine com- 
plexions — if they take care — of good manners and address. The climate makes them 
bright, and of excellent sense, and sharp in trade ; an idiot or deformed native being 
almost a miracle. Thus they have good natural notions, and will soon learn arts and 
sciences ; but are generally diverted, by business or inclination, from profound study and 
prying into the depth of things; being ripe for management of their affairs before they 
have laid so good a foundation for learning, and had such instructions and acquired 
such accomplishments, as might be instilled into such naturally good capacities. Never- 
theless, through their quick apprehension, they have a sufficiency of knowledge and 
fluency of tongue, though their learning for the most part be but superficial. They are 
more inclinable to read men by business and conversation, than to dive into books, and 
are, for the most part, only desirous of learning what is absolutely necessary, in the 

shortest and best method As for education, several are sent to England for it, 

though the Virginians, being naturally of good parts, as I have already hinted, neither 
require nor admire as mucH learning as we do in Britain ; yet more would be sent over, 
were they not afraid of the small-pox, which most commonly proves fatal to them. But 
indeed, when they come to England, they are generally put to learn to persons that 
know little of their temper, who keep them drudging on what is of least use to them, in 

pedantick methods too tedious for their volatile genius If New England be called 

a receptacle of Dissenters and an Amsterdam of religion, Pennsylvania a nursery of 
Quakers, Maryland the retirement of Roman Catholics, North Carolina the refuge of 
runaways, and South Carolina the delight of Buccaneers and Pyrates, Virginia may be 
iustly esteemed the happy retreat of true Britons, and true Churchmen for the most 
part ; neither soaring too high, nor dropping too low, consequently should merit the 
greater esteem and encouragement. 



JAMES CITY COUNTY. 331 

The common planters leading- easy lives, don't much admire labor, or any manly ex- 
ercise, except horse-racing, nor diversion, except cockfighting, in which some greatly 
delight. This easy way of living, and the heat of the summer, makes some very lazy, 
who are then said to be climate-struck. The saddle-horses, though not very large, are 
hardy, strong, and fleet ; and will pace naturally and pleasantly at a prodigious rate. 
They are such lovers of riding, that almost every ordinary person keeps a horse : and I 
have known some spend the morning in ranging several miles in the woods to find and 
catch their horses, only to ride two or three miles to church, to the court-house, or to a 
horse-race, where they generally appoint to meet upon business, and are more certain 
of finding those that they want to speak or deal with, than at their home. 

No people can entertain their friends with better cheer and welcome ; and strangers 
and travellers are here treated in the most free, plentiful, and hospitable manner, so that 
a few inns or ordinaries on the road are sufficient. 

The first newspaper printed in British America was in Boston, in 
1704, and in 1719 the second was issued, in the same city. In 
1725 a newspaper was first printed in New York ; from this time 
they were gradually extended through the continent. 

"In 1671, Sir William Berkelej'' ' thanks God there are no free 
schools nor printing, [in Virginia,] — and hopes we shall not have 
these hundreds of years to come.' The first printing-press erected 
in Virginia, in 1682, was shortly after put down." 

The first newspaper published in Virginia was the Virginia Gazette, the first number 
of which was issued at Williamsburg, August 6th, 1736. It was then a sheet about 12 
inches by six, and was printed and published by W. Parks, at 15s. per annum. In his 
introduction, after mentioning that papers had been established elsewhere in the colonies, 
as well as in Europe, he says : " From these examples, the encouragement of several 
gentlemen, and the prospect I have of success in this ancient and best-settled colony, 
ViRGrxiA, I am induced to set forth weekly newspapers here ; not doubting to meet with 
as good encouragement as others, or at least such as may enable me to carry them on." 
This same Wm. Parks printed, ia 1729, Stith's History of Virginia and the Laws of 
Virginia, at this place. His paper was under the influence of the government. Parks 
died in 1750, and the paper was discontinued for a time. In Feb., 1751, this paper was 
renewed by Wm. Hunter. He died in 1761. It was then enlarged, and published by 
Joseph Royle ; after whose death it was carried on by Purdie and Dixon, who continued 
it until the commencement of the revolution ; and Purdie, alone, published it several 
years during the revolutionary contest. 

Mr. Jefferson in answer to an inquiry observes, " till the beginning of our revolution- 
ary disputes we had but one press ; and that having the whole business of the govern- 
ment, and no competitor for public favor, nothing disagreeable to the governor could find 
its way into it. We procured Rind to come from Maryland to publish a free paper." 
Accordingly, in May, 1766, a second paper, entitled also "The Virginia Gazette," 
" published by authority, open to all parties, but influenced by none," was issued at this 
place by Wm. Rind. The clause, " published by authority," was omitted at the end of 
the first year. Rind dying in August, 1773, the paper was continued by his widow, 
Clementina Rind, and at her death by John Pinckney. Another " Virginia Gazette" 
was first published at Williamsburg in 1775, and continued weekly, for several years, 
by John Clarkson and Augustine Davis.* 

From these papers we make the subjoined extracts : 

Williamsburg, Nov. 12, 1736. — ^On this day sen'night, being the 5th of November, the 
president, masters, and scholars, of William and Mary college went, according to their 
annual custom, in a body, to the governor's, to present his honor with two copies of 
Latin verses, in obedience to their charter, as a grateful acknowledgment for two valu- 
able tracts of land given the said college by their late K. William and Q. Mary. Mr. 
President delivered the verses to his honor ; and two of the young gentlemen spoke 
them. It is further observed there were upwards of 60 scholars present ; a much great, 
er number than has been any year before since the foundation of the college. 

* For most of the facts above stated we are indebted to Thomas's History of Printing. 



332 JAMES CITY COUNTY. 

Sept. 10, 1736. — This evening will be performed at the Theatre, by the young gen- 
tlemen of the college, The Tragedy of Cato ; and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 
next, will be acted the following comedies, by the gentlemen and ladies of this country, 
viz : The Busy Body, The Recruiting Officer, and The Bkaux Stratagem. 

Williamsburg, Sept. 21, 1739.— An epitaph on Miss M. Thacker, (daughter of Col. 
Edwin Thacker, of Middlesex,) who died at Williamsburg, on Wednesday last : 
Pensively pay the tribute of a tear, 
For one that claims our common grief lies here. 
Good-natured, prudent, affable, and mild, 
In sense a woman, in deceit a child. 
Angels, like us, her virtues shall admire. 
And chant her welcome thro' the Heavenly choir. 

Sept. 21, 1739. — Edward Morris, Breeches-Maker and Glover, from London, is set 
up in his business, near the college, in Williamsburg, where he makes and sells the best 
buckskin breeches, either of the common tanned color, black, or other cloth colors, after 
the English manner. Also buckskin gloves with high tops. Any persons that have oc- 
casion to make use of him, in any 6f the above particulars, may depend upon kind usage, 
and at very reasonable rates. 

Williamsburg, March 3, 1768. — Early this morning, died at the palace, after a tedious 
illness, which he bore with the greatest patience and fortitude, the Hon. Francis 
Fauquier, Esq., Lieut. Gov. and commander-in-chief of the colony, over which he has 
presided near ten years, much to his own honor, and the ease and satisfaction of the in- 
habitants. He was a gentleman of the most amiable disposition, generous, just, and 
mild, and possessed, in an eminent degree, of all the social virtues. He was a Fellow 
of the Royal Society, and died in his 63th year.* 

May 26, 1768. — For the benefit of Mrs. Parker, by permission of the worshipful the 
Mayor of Williamsburg, at the Old Theatre, near the Capitol, by the Virginia Com- 
pany OF Comedians, on. Friday, the 3d of June, will be presented the Beggar's Opera, 
and the Anatomist, or Sham Doctor. 

Williamsburg, April 13, 1768. — A hog was brought to town this week, from Sussex, 
as a show, raised by Mr. Henry Tyler there, who, though only four years old, is near three 
feet and a half high, about nine and a half long, and, it is supposed, weighs near twelve 
hundred pounds. He much exceeds any animal of the kind ever raised on this conti- 
nent, and, indeed, we do not remember to have heard of any so large in England. 

Oct. 5, 1768. — Yesterday, Peyton Randolph, Esq., our worthy representative, gave 
a genteel dinner at the Raleigh Tavern, to the electors of this city, after which many 
loyal and patriotic toasts were drank, and the afternoon spent with cheerfulness and de- 
corum. 

From the Virginia Gazette of 1776 are extracted the following marriage notices, 
which, according to the custom of the time, are accompanied with a few poetic lines : 

Edmund Randolph, Esq., Attorney-General of Virginia, to Miss Betsey Nicholas, a 
young lady whose amiable sweetness of disposition, joined with the finest intellectual 
accomplishments, cannot fail of rendering the worthy man of her choice completely 

happy. 

Fain would the aspiring muse attempt to sing 

The virtues of this amiable pair ; 
But how shall I attune the trembling string. 

Or sound a note which can such worth declare t 
Exalted theme ! too high for common lays ! 

Could my weak verse with beauty be inspired, 
In numbers smooth I'd chant my Betsey's praise. 

And tell how much her Randolph is admired. 
To light the hymeneal torch since they've resolved, 
' Kind Heaven I trust will make them truly blest ; 

And when the Oordian knot shall be dissolved, 

Translate them to eternal peace and rest. 



* A paper of a late^ laff «a\ - h was buried in the north aisle of the church. 



JAMES CITY COUNTY. 333 

Mr. William Derricoat, of Hanover, to Miss Sockey Tomkies, of Gloucester, 
daughter of Col. Francis Tomkies. 

Her's the mild lustre of the blooming mom, 
And his the radiance of the rising day. 
Long may they live, and mutually possess, 
A steady love and genuine happiness. 

On Sunday last, Mr. Beverly Dixon to Miss Polly Saunders, a very agreeable 

young lady. 

Hymen, thy brightest torch prepare, 
Gild with light the nuptial bower, 
With garlands crown this lovely pair, 
On them thy choicest blessings shower 
Cupids lightly sport and play, 
Hymen crowns the happy day ; 
Sprightly graces too descend, 
And the beauteous bride attend. 
Here no sordid interest binds. 

But purest innocence and love 
Combined unite their spotless minds, 
And seal their vows above. 

Captain Samuel Denny, of the artillery, to Miss Fallen, of Northumberland 

May peace and love the sacred band unite. 
And equal joy, yield equal sweet content. 

James Madison, D. D., Bishop of the Episcopal Church In Virginia, and President 
of William and Mary College, was born near Port Republic, in Rockingham county, in 
1749. His father was the district clerk of West Augusta. He graduated with the 
highest honors at William and Mary, then studied law with the celebrated George 
Wythe, and after being licensed to practise, turned his attention to theology, and was 
admitted to holy orders. He was chosen professor of mathematics, in William and 
Mary, in 1773. In 1777, at the early age of 28, he was elected president, and soon 
after visited England. " In 1788, as Bishop elect of Virginia, he went again to Eng- 
land for Episcopal ordination, and was consecrated at Lambeth, Sept. 19, 1790. On his 
return, he united the performance of his duties of bishop with those of president and 
professor. Until the close of his life, such were his literary and scientific pursuits, that 
he was occupied in lectures from four to six hours every day. After a severe illness, he 
died, March 6, 1812, in the 63d year of his age. His published works are, a Thanks- 
giving Sermon, 1781 ; a letter to J. Morse, 1795 ; an address to the Episcopal Church, 
1799 ; and an able and very eloquent discourse on the death of Washington. The 
reputation of Bishop Madison is that of a refined gentleman, an accomplished scholar, 
and an enlightened and liberal Christian philanthropist." 

1/ " Peyton Randolph, first president of the American Congress, was a native of Vir 
ginia, and one of the most distinguished lawyers and patriots of the state. He was, as 
early as 1756, appointed king's attorney of the colony, and held the office for many 
years. In 1766, he was elected speaker of the House of Burgesses, and in 1773, a 
member of the committee of correspondence. The following year, he was appointed a 
delegate to the Congress which assembled at Philadelphia, and was elected its president ; 
and also presided in the Congress of 1775, till obliged to return to Virginia, when Han- 
cock was chosen his successor. He soon resumed his seat in Congress, but died sud- 
denly of an apoplectic fit on the 22d of October, 1775, aged 52 years." 

In speaking of his death, Girardin observes : " That illustrious citizen, distinguished 
at first by the eminence of his forensic station, and afterwards by the ability, zeal, in- 
tegrity, and dignity, which he displayed in the higher offices of public life, had several 
times been elected speaker of the House of Burgesses. On the 20th of March, he was 
unanimously appointed president of the first convention ; and on the 11th of August 
following, first nominated one of the delegates for Virginia to the general Congress. A 
new and well-merited honor awaited him there ; without one dissentient voice, he was 
called to preside over that great and venerable body. . . . The remains of this worthy 
patriot were afterwards brought from Philadelphia to Williamsburg by Edmund Ran- 
dolph, his nephew, and in November, 1776, deposited in the family vault in the college 
chapel, with suitable funeral ceremonies. A short time before his departure for the 
general Continental Congress, the convention, observing with great concern that he 
was very much indisposed, recommended him to retire for the present from the fatigues 
of public duty, tendering to him at the same time their unfeigned thanks for his luire- 



334 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 



mitted attention to the important interests of his country, and his unwearied application 
to, and able, faithful, and impartial discharge of the duties of his office ; and assuring 
him that he had the warmest wishes of the convention for a speedy return to health, 
and an uninterrupted enjoyment of every felicity." 



JEFFERSON. 

Jefferson was formed in 1801, from Berkeley; its mean length 
is 22 miles, breadth 12 miles. The Potomac forms its northeastern 
boundary ; the Shenandoah enters the county near its southeast- 
ern border, and flowing in a northeast direction, parallel with the 




Harper's Ferry, from the Blue Ridge. 

Blue Ridge, enters the Potomac at Harper's Ferry. The face of 
the country is rolling, and the soil almost unequalled in fertility 
by any other county in Virginia. " It was settled principally by 
old Virginia families from the eastern part of the state ; and the 
inhabitants still retain that high, chivalrous spirit, and generous 
hospitality, for which that race was so remarkable in the palmy 
days of their prosperity." Pop. in 1840, whites 9,323, slaves 
4,157, free colored 602; total, 14,082. 

Middleway, 7 miles southwest of Charlestown, contains 1 Pres- 
byterian, and 1 Methodist church, 3 mercantile stores, and about 
500 inhabitants. Leetown is at the western end of the county, and 
contains a few dwellings. It derives its name from the celebrated 
Gen. Charles Lee, who once resided there. 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 335 

Harper's Ferry is distant 173 miles from Richmond, 57 from 
Washington city, and 30 from Winchester, with which it is con- 
nected by a rail-road. This thriving manufacturing village is sit- 
uated at the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Its 
name is derived from a ferry, long since established across the 
Potomac, where the river breaks through the Blue Ridge ; at this 
place it is about 1200 feet in height. The name of the place was 
originally Shenandoah Falls. 

•' The scenery at Harper's Ferry is, perhaps, the most singularly picturesque in 
America. To attain the view here given, it was necessary to climb the Blue Ridge by 
a narrow winding path immediately above the bank of the Potomac. The view from 
this lofty summit amply repays the fatigue incurred by its ascent. The junction of the 
two rivers is immediately beneath the spectator's feet ; and his delighted eye, resting 
first upon the beautiful and thriving village of Harper's Ferry, wanders over the wide 
and woody plains, extending to the Alleghany mountains. President Jefferson, who has 
given the name to a beautiful rock immediately above the village, has left a powerful 
description of the scenery of Harper's Ferry. He says : 

" ' The passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge, is, perhaps, one of the most 
stupendous scenes in nature. You stand on a very high point of land ; on your right 
comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of a mountain a hundred miles 
to seek a vent. On your left approaches the Potomac, in quest of a passage also ; in 
the moment of their junction, tiiey rush together against the mountain, rend it asunder, 
and pass off to the sea. The first glance of this scene hurries our senses into the opin- 
ion that this earth has been created in time ; that the mountains were formed first ; that 
the rivers began to flow afterwards ; that in this place particularly, they have been dam- 
med up by the Blue Ridge of mountains, and have formed an ocean which filled the 
whole valley ; that, continuing to rise, they have at length broken over at this spot, and 
have torn the mountain down from its summit to its base. The piles of rock on each 
hand, particularly on the Shenandoah — the evident marks of their disrupture and avul- 
sion from their beds by the most powerful agents of nature, corroborate the impression. 
But the distant finishing which nature has given to the picture, is of a very different 
character ; it is a true contrast to the foreground ; it is as placid and delightful as that 
is wild and tremendous ; for the mountain being cloven asunder, she presents to your 
eye, through the clefts, a small catch of smooth blue horizon, at an infinite distance in the 
plain country, inviting you, as it were, from the riot and tumult warring around, to pass 
through the breach and participate of the calm below. Here the eye ultimately com- 
poses itself ; and that way, too, the road happens actually to lead. You cross the Poto. 
mac above the junction, pass along its side through the base of the mountain for three 
miles, its terrible precipices hanging in fragments over you, and within about twenty 
miles reach Fredericktown, and the fine country round that. This scene is worth a 
voyage across the Atlantic ; yet here, as in the neighborhood of the Natural Bridge, 
are people who have passed their lives within half a dozen miles, and have never been 
to survey these monuments of a war between rivers and mountains, which must have 
shaken the earth itself to its centre.' " 

There are many points of view from which the scenery appears romantic and beauti- 
ful. Among these, that seen from Jefferson's Rock, which is on a hill overhanging the 
town, is very fine. The top of tliis rock is flat, and nearly twelve feet square ; its base, 
which does not exceed five feet in width, rests upon the top of a larger rock ; and its 
height is about five feet. The whole mass is so nicely balanced, that the application of 
a small force will cause it to vibrate considerably. On this rock once reposed another 
rock, on which Mr. Jefferson, during a visit to this place, inscribed his name. In the 
extraordinary political excitement of 1798-9, between the federal and the democratic 
parties, a Capt. Henry, who was stationed here with some U. S. troops, at the head of a 
band of his men hurled off the apex of this rock. 

At Harper's Ferry, on the Maryland side, " there is said to be a wonderful likeness of 
Washington in the stupendous rocks which overhang the Potomac. The nose, lips, and 
chin are admirably formed, and bear the semblance of studied art. The forehead is 
obscure ; yet there is sufficient to give the mind a just idea of the noble form and digni- 
fied carriage, with the mildness of feature, which the original possessed so pre-eminently 
as to inspire all men with a profound reverence towards this august personage." 



336 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 



Harper's Ferry is compactly, though irregularly built, around 
the foot of a hill ; but the engraving annexed shows but a small 
portion of it. It contains about a dozen mercantile stores, several 
mechanical and manufacturing establishments, 1 Presbyterian, 1 
Catholic, 1 Methodist, and 1 Free Church ; and, including the 
suburbs, has a population of over 3,000. The Chesapeake and 
Ohio Canal passes along the left bank of the Potomac, and the 
Baltimore and Ohio rail-road passes through the town. The town 
is connected with the Maryland side by a fine bridge across the 
Potomac, of about 800 feet in length. The United States Armory 
and the National Arsenal, at Harper's Ferry, are worthy of atten- 
tion. In the latter, 80,000 or 90,000 muskets are usually kept, 
which, as they are sent away, are replaced by others from the 
factories. 




Dwelling of Rumsey, the first Steamboat Inventor. 

Shepherdstown is situated on the Potomac, in the northwestern 
part of the county, 5 miles north of the Baltimore and Ohio rail- 
road, and about 12 miles above Harper's Ferry. It was estab- 
lished by law in November, 1762, laid off by Capt. Thomas Shep- 
herd, and named Mecklenburg : its first settlers were German 
mechanics. It contains 6 or 8 mercantile stores, 3 merchant 
mills, 1 Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, 1 German-Reformed, and 1 
Lutheran church, and a population of about 1,600. There is a 
small stream, of considerable fall, which runs through the town, 
immediately opposite to which is an inlet-lock to the Chesapeake 
and Ohio Canal. 

This town is remarkable as being the place where the first 
steamboat was constructed and navigated. Previous to detailing the 
experiments at this place, we shall introduce a brief historical 
sketch of navigation by steam : 

" Who invented the steamboat ?" is a question which has occasioned much contro- 
Tersy — an achievement of which nations, as well as individuals, have been covetous. 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 337 

Several ol the early experimenters in steam appear to have conceived of the idea. 
The first account we have on the subject, is given in a work recently published in Spain, 
containing original papers relating to the voyage of Columbus, said to have been prc' 
served in the royal archives at Samancas, and among the public papers of Catalonia, 
and those of the secretary at war for the year 1543. This narrative states that " Blasco 
de Garay, a sea-captain, exhibited to the emperor and king Charles V., in the year 1543, 
an engine by which ships and vessels of the largest size could be propelled, even in a 
calm, without the aid of oars or sails. Notwithstanding the opposition which this pro- 
ject encountered, the emperor resolved that an experiment should be made, as in fact it 
was, with success, in the harbor of Barcelona, on the 17th of June, 1543. Garay never 
publicly exposed the construction of his engine ; but it was observed, at the time of his 
experiment, that it consisted of a large caldron, or vessel of boiling water, and a movea- 
ble wheel attached to each side of the ship. The experiment was made on a ship of 
209 tons, arrived from Calibre to discharge a cargo of wheat at Barcelona ; it was 
called the Trinity, and the captain's name was Peter de Scarza. By order of Charles 
v., and the prince Philip the Second, his son, there were present at the time, Henry de 
Toledo, the governor, Peter Cardona, the treasurer, Ravago, the vice-chancellor, Francis 
Gralla, and many other persons of rank, both Castilians and Catalonians ; and among 
others, several sea-captains witnessed the operation — some in the vessel, and others on 
the shore. The emperor and prince, and others with them, applauded the engine, and 
especially the expertness with which the ship could be tacked. The treasurer, Ravago, 
an enemy to the project, said it would move two leagues in three hours. It was very 
complicated and expensive, and exposed to the constant danger of bursting the boiler. 
The other commissioners affirmed, that the vessel could be tacked twice as quick as a 
galley served by the common method, and that, at its slowest fate, it would move a 
league in an hour. The exhibition being finished, Garay took from the ship his engine, 
and having deposited the wood-Work in the arsenal of Barcelona, kept the rest to him- 
self. Notwithstanding the difficulties and opposition thrown in the way by Ravago, the 
invention was approved ; and if the expedition in which Charles V. was then engaged 
had not failed, it would undoubtedly have been favored by him. As it Was, he raised 
Garay to a higher station, gave him a sum of money (200,000 maravedies) as a present, 
ordered all the expenses of the experiment to be paid out of the general treasury, and 
conferred upon him other rewards." 

The editor of the Franklin Journal, from which this extract has been made, observes, 
"when the ' Public Records' shall appear in an authentic form, their evidence must be 
admitted ; until then, he should not be inclined to commence the history of the invention 
of the steamboat so far back as 1543. For, circumstantial as the account is, it seems 
to have been written since the days of Fulton." 

He is not alone in this opinion, as it is generally regarded as a mere fiction, the off- 
spring of an individual jealous of his country's reputation. This, too, it must be re- 
membered, is stated to have occurred 54 years previous to the birth of the Marquis of 
Worcester, to whom history assigns the credit of being the original inventor of the 
steam-engine. When we consider how slow is the progress of invention — how it took 
several generations of ingenious men, each of whom successively contributed his share 
in improving upon the first crude conception of Worcester, ere it could be successfully 
applied — how rude the state of mechanic arts three centuries since, and the difficulties 
of perfecting so complicated a work of mechanism as the steam-engine — it seems incredi- 
ble that one mind alone should have overcome them all, and, at a single leap, done that 
which has taken the successive light and talent of generations of men, and all the me- 
chanical skill and knowledge of the 19th century, to consummate. 

The most prominent and authentic account of the early projects of applying steam as 
a motive power to the propelling of vessels, is given in a treatise printed in Loudon in 
1737, entitled "Description and draught of a new-invented machine, for carrying ves- 
sels out of, or into any harbor, port, or river, against wind and tide, or in a calm : for 
which his majesty George II. has granted letters patent for the sole benefit of the au- 
thor, for the space of 14 years ; by Jonathan Hulls." The draught or drawing prefixed, 
ia a plate of a stout boat, with chimney smoking, a pair of wheels rigged out over each 
side of the stern, moved by means of ropes passing around their outer rims ; and to the 
axis of these wheels are fixed six paddles to propel the boat. From the stern of the 
boat a tow-line passes to the foremast of a two-decker, which the boat thus tows 
through the water. There is no evidence that Hulls ever applied his conceptions to 
practice. 

Previous to the great and successful experiment of Fulton, in 1807, several attempts 

43 



338 JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

were made in this country and in Europe, to navigate vessels by steam. The first in 
order of time, was made by the subject of this sketch ; the second was John Fitch, who, 
in 1789, succeeded in propelling his steamboat by paddles, at the rate of eight miles an 
hour, on the Delaware. In his autobiography he says, " I know of nothing so perplexing 
and vexatious to a man of feelings, as a turbulent wife and steamboat building. I experi- 
enced the former, and quit in season ; and had I been in my right senses, I should un- 
doubtedly have treated the latter in the same manner. But for one man to be teased 
. with both, he must be looked upon as the most unfortunate man of this world." Fitch 
died at Bardstown, Kentucky, about the year 1796. It was his wish to be buried on the 
banks of the Ohio, that he might repose " where the song of the boatman would enliven 
the stillness of his resting-place, and the music of the steam-engine sooth his spirit." 
How melancholy is the sentiment found in his journal : " The day will come when 
some more powerful man will get fame and riches from my invention ; but nobody will 
believe that poor John Fitch can do any thing worthy of attention." As early as 1783, 
both Rumsey and Fitch had exhibited models to Gen. Washington. 

Shortly after the experiment of Fitch, a Mr. Symington succeeded in propelling a 
steamboat on the Clyde, in Scotland. 

John Stevens, of Hoboken, commenced his experiments in 1797. With various 
forms of vessels and machinery, he impelled boats at the rate of five or six miles an 
hour. In the year 1797, Chancellor Livingston built a steamboat on the Hudson, and 
he applied to the legislature of New York for an exclusive privilege. Being unable to 
comply with the conditions of their grant — viz., that he should propel a vessel by steam 
at the rate of three miles an hour, within a year — the project was, for a time, dropped. 
He afterwards associated with Stevens, and being aided by Nicholas Rosevelt, they car- 
ried on their experiments until Livingston was sent minister to France. Mr. Stevens 
continued his experiments until several years later, when Mr. Livingston obtained a 
renewal of the exclusive grant from the legislature of New York. Mr. Stevens, with 
the assistance of his son, now applied himself with increased assiduity to the project, 
and succeeded in 1807, only a few days later than Mr. Fulton's convincing experiment, 
in propelling a steamboat at the required velocit}^ Mr. Fulton had, in 1803, made a 
successful experiment upon the Seine, with a boat which moved at the rate of four miles 
per hour. 

Another of these indefatigable experimenters in navigation by steam, was Oliver Evans, 
of Philadelphia, the inventor of the high-pressure steam-engine, the only one which can 
be successfully applied to locomotives. " In the year 1804, Mr. Evans, by order of the 
board of health of Philadelphia, constructed at his works, situated a mile and a half 
from the water, a machine for cleaning docks. It consisted of a large fiat, or scow, 
with a steam-engine of the power of five horses on board, to work machinery in raising 
the mud into scows. This was considered a fine opportunity to show the public that his 
engine could propel both land and water conveyances. When the machine was finished, 
he fixed, in a rough and temporary manner, wheels with wooden axletrees, and, of 
course, under the influence of great friction. Although the whole weight was equal to 
200 barrels of flour, yet his small engine propelled it up Market-st., and round the circle 
to the water- works, where it was launched into the Schuylkill. A paddle-wheel was 
then applied to its stern, and it thus sailed down that river to the Delaware, a distance 
of 16 miles, leaving all vessels that were under sail at least half way, (the wind being 
ahead,) in the presence of thousands of spectators — which he supposed would have con- 
vinced them of the practicability of steamboats and steam-carriages. But no allow- 
ance was made by the public for the disproportion of the engine to its load, nor fur the 
rough manner in which the machinery was fixed, or the great friction and ill form of the 
boat ; but it was supposed that this was the utmost it could perform. In 1802, Evans 
built a steamboat to ply on the Mississippi between New Orleans and Natchez. The 
boat being ready, a drought left it high and dry, and the steam-engine was placed tem- 
porarily in a saw-mill. The mill was like to deprive some who sawed lumber of profit- 
able jobs ; and, on the third attempt, it was burnt by incendiaries. Thus were the pro- 
jectors ruined, and a laudable attempt to establish steamboats on the Mississippi, three 
or four years before Fulton's experiment, defeated." 



James Rumsey, who is believed to be the first person that ever succeeded in propelling 
a boat by steam, was a native of Maryland. When a young man, he removed to Shep- 
herdstown, where he devoted much of his time to mechanics. 

He was, at one period of his life, engaged as a merchant in company with a Mr. 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 339 

Orrick, at Bath, in Morgan county. In September, 1781, it appears from a letter of 
his, now before us, that he was employed by the Potomac company, of which Washing- 
ton was a member, to improve the navigation of the Potomac River. In the summer 
of the year 1783, he directed his attention to the subject of steamboats ; and in the 
autumn of 1784 succeeded in a private, but very imperfect experiment, in order to 
test some of the principles of his invention. In the October session of that year, he 
obtained the passage of an act from the Virginia Assembly, guarantying to him the ex- 
clusive use of his invention in navigating the waters of that state, for the space of 10 
years from date.* In January, 1785, he obtained a patent from the General Assembly 
of Maryland, for navigating their waters. Through the whole of this year he was en- 
gaged in working at his boat, but was not ready for a public trial until 1786, the year 
followino-. In this experiment he was eminently successful. He succeeded in propelling 
his boat, by steam alone, at Shepherdstown, against the current of the Potomac, at the 
rate of four or five miles an hour. 

There are now several persons living who were on board at this time : among these is 
Mrs. Ann Baker, the mother-in-law of the late Gov. Gilmer. Washington, it is said, 
was also among the passengers. In his correspondence, compiled by Sparks, is a letter 
to Rumsey, dated anterior to the public experiment in 1786, advising him to hasten the 
construction of his boat, so as to prevent being forestalled by another individual, and to 
convince the public of its practicability. Also, in a letter to Hugh Williamson, M. C, 
dated Mount Vernon, March 15th, 1785, Washington says, in alluding to Rumsey 's 
boat : " If a model of a thing, in miniature, is a just representation of a greater object in 
practice, there is no doubt of the utility of the invention. A view of his model, with 
the explanation, removed the principal doubt I ever had of the practicability of propel- 
ling against a stream, by the aid of mechanical power ; but as he wanted to avail him- 
self of my introduction of it to the public attention, I chose, previously, to see the actual 
performance of the model in a descending stream, before I passed my certificate, and 
having done so, all my doubts are satisfied." 

While at Shepherdstown, Mr. Rumsey dwelt in a small log-house, now standing near 
the town jail in the outskirts of the village. It is the same building represented in the 
engraving. He was supplied with funds for the undertaking by his brother-in-law, 
Charles Morrow, which proved the ruin of the latter. The boat was built upon the 
banks of the Potomac, about half a mile above the town. She was called by the towns- 
people, not the steamboat, but " the fying-boat ;" and Mr. Rumsey himself received, 
from the same source, the appellation of " Crazy Rumsey." There is a place upon the 
banks of the Potomac, formerly called " Rumsey's Walk," where Rumsey was often 
seen for hours walking to and fro, in deep meditation upon his favorite project. A por- 
tion of the boiler of his boat is now in the possession of Alexander R. Boteler, Esq., 
of Shepherdstown, to whose kindness we are indebted for some of the facts in this ar- 
ticle. 

" Stuart's Anecdotes of the Steam-Engine," an English publication, thus describes 
his boat: 

" Rumsey's boat was about 50 feet in length, and was propelled by a pump worked 
by a steam-engine, which forced a quantity of water up through the keel ; the valve 
was then shut by the return of the stroke, which at the same time forced the water 
through a channel or pipe, a few inches square, (lying above or parallel to the kelson,) 
out at the stern under the rudder, which had a less depth than usual, to permit the exit 
of the water. The impetus of this water forced through the square channel against the 
exterior water, acted as an impelling power upon the vessel. The reaction of the efflu- 
ent water propelled her at the rate above mentioned, when loaded with three tons in ad 
dition to the weight of her engine, of about a third of a ton. The boiler was quite a 
curiosity, holding no more than five gallons of water, and needing only a pint at a time. 
The whole machinery did not occupy a space greater than that required for four barrels 
of flour. The fuel consumed was not more than from four to six bushels of coal in 
twelve hours. Rumsey's other project was to apply the power of a steam-engine to long 
poles, which were to reach the bottom of the river, and by that means to push a boat 
against a rapid current." 

" After the experiment above alluded to, Rumsey being under the strong conviction 
that skilful workmen and perfect machinery were alone wanting to the most perfect sue 

* See Meaning's Statutes, Vol. II., p. 502 



340 JEFF£RSO>f COUNTY. 

cess, and sensible that such could not be procured in America, resolued to go to Eng- 
land. With slender means of his own, and aided, or rather mocked, by some timid and 
unsteady patronage, he there resumed with untiring energy his great undertaking. He 
proceeded to procure patents of the British government for steam navigation : these 
patents bear date in the beginning of the year 1788. Several of his inventions, in one 
modified form or another, are now in general use ; as, for instance, the cylindrical boiler, 
so superior to the old tub or still-boilers, in the presentation of fire surface, and capacity 
for holding highly rarefied steam, is described, both single and combined, in his specifi- 
cations, and is identical in principle with the tub-boiler which he used in his Potomac 
experiment. 

" Difficulties and embarrassments of a pecuniary nature, and such as invariably ob- 
struct the progress of a new invention, attended him in England. He was often com- 
pelled to abandon temporarily his main object, and turn his attention to something else, 
m order to raise means to resume it. He undertook, with the same power, but by its 
more judicious application, to produce higher results in several water-works, in all 
which he succeeded, realizing thereby some reputation as well as funds to apply to his 
favorite project. 

" At another time, in order to avoid a London prison, and the delay, if not the de- 
feat of all his high hopes, he was compelled to transfer, at what he considered a ruinous 
sacrifice, a large interest in his inventions, — a contract which entangled and embarrassed 
him through life. Still, however, he struggled on, undismayed, and had constructed a 
boat of about one hundred tons burden, and pushed forward his machinery so near to 
the point of completion, as to be able to indicate a day not very distant for a public ex- 
hibition."* 

Death, however, put an end to his career, in Liverpool, at a most flattering point in 
his life, and under circumstances of the most touching character. 

Rumsey had consented, at the suggestion of some gentlemen, to give a public exposi- 
tion of his projet, for the purpose of enlisting the patronage of the public in his behalf. 
The evening came, and, to his astonishment, the hall was filled to overflowing with the 
learning, and fashion, and beauty of Liverpool. He was overwhelmed at this unlooked- 
for token of interest ; and he seems to have been so conquered by his feelings, as to be 
unequal to the occasion. He saw that his most ardent hopes were upon the eve of ac- 
complishment, and that the helping hand of power was to be extended to him in his 
penury, and carry through in triumph the cherished object of his life. He arose to begin 
his lecture — his agitation was observed by a gentleman, who handed him a glass of 
water — he returned his thanks in a few incoherent sentences, sank in his chair, and 
never spake more. He was seized with an apoplectic fit, and died within two days after. 
Thus died poor Rumsey, another of those martyrs of civilization, of which those bene- 
factors of the human race who have labored in the department of mechanical invention 
— whose works constitute the peculiar glory of our time — form so long a roll. 

Rumsey had obtained the patronage of some enterprising individuals, and the boat fie 
constructed was set in motion after his death, on the Thames, in 1793. 

A sharp controversy, at one time, existed between Rumsey and Fitch, as to the origi- 
nality of their respective inventions. Neither, however, can claim originality as to the 
idea, as has been shown. The Hon. Robert Wickliffe, Sen., of Kentucky, in a commu- 
nication on this subject to the American Pioneer, (Vol. I., p. 34,) says that about the 
year 1780, Fitch accidentally met Rumsey in Winchester, and imparted to him his idea 
of propelling boats by steam. Admitting the fact, it proves nothing more than that 
from Fitch, Rumsey derived the bare idea : the principles of their machinery were dif- 
ferent. Without deciding upon the respective merits of either, both certainly claim ad- 
miration for their perseverance, as well as sympathy for their misfortunes. 



Gen. William Darke; was born in Pennsylvania, in 1736. When he was five years 
of age, he removed with his parents to Virginia, within five miles of Shepherdstown. 

* The last quotation is from the speech of Mr. Rumsey, of Kentucky, before the Congressional House 
of Representatives, on the occasion of otfering the following resolution, afterwards unanimously passed, 
Feb. 9, 1839. " Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives, &c. &c., That the President be, 
and he is hereby requested, to present to James Rumsey, jun., the son and only surviving child of James 
Rumsey, deceased, a suitable gold medal, commemorative of his father's services and high agency in ^v- 
ing to the world the benefit of the steamboat." For the speech above referred to, see the National In- 
telligencer of that date. 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 341 

He was gifted by nature with an herculean frame ; his manners were rough ; his mind 
was strong, but uncultivated ; and his disposition frank and fearless. In his 19th year, 
he was with the Virginia provincials at Braddock's defeat. He then returned and con- 
tinued engaged in agricultural pursuits. When the revolutionary war broke out, he 
joined the American army. He was taken prisoner at Germantown, and remained so 
until Nov. 1, 1780. In the succeeding spring he repaired to Winchester to recruit his 
regiment. He was colonel-commandant of the Hampshire and Berkeley regiments at 
the siege of York, and nobly sustained the character he had previously won for bravery 
and heroic daring. After the war he returned to agriculture. He was chosen, v^ith 
Gen. Stevens, to represent Berkeley county in the Virginia convention of 1788, and 
voted for the federal constitution. Subsequently, he was repeatedly elected to the legis- 
lature. At St. Clair's defeat. Col. Darke commanded the left wing of the army. When 
tlie Indians were making their most desperate onsets, and the whites were falling in 
heaps before his eyes, St. Clair at this crisis ordered Darke to charge with the bayonet, 
who drove the enemy from his position with his usual gallantry, but, for want of rifle- 
men, could not continue the pursuit. The Indians again penetrated to the camp ; 
Darke, assisted by Butler and Clarke, made a second charge, with success — recovered 
the artillery, and drove the enemy before them. But these e.xertions were not sustained, 
so that a concentrated effort could not be made, and the loss of officers increased every 
moment. Among these was Capt. Joseph Darke, his youngest son, who was mortally 
wounded. His father saw him fall, paused for a moment, and then rushed, to the con- 
test. The retreat soon commenced, and Darke arrived that evening at Fort Jefferson, 
distant 30 miles, with his son on a horse-litter, although he himself was wounded in the 
thigh, and liable to be overtaken and slain. A council of war was held at Fort Jeffer- 
son, and Darke urged the expediency of an immediate attack, and contended-^ that the 
Indians might be beaten, because they were flushed with victory and unprepared for the 
contest. But he was overruled. Darke died Nov. 20th, 1801. 



Charlestown, the seat of justice for the county, is on the line of 
the rail-road from Winchester to Harper's Ferry, 8 miles from the 
latter, and 22 from the former. This town was established in Oc- 
tober, 1786, and named from the Christian name of its first proprie- 
tor. Col. Charles Washington, a brother of George Washington. 
Eighty lots were divided into lots and streets, and the following 
named gentlemen were appointed trustees : John Augustine Wash 
ington, William Drake, Robert Rutherford, James Crane, Cato 
Moore, Magnus Tate, Benjamin Rankin, Thornton Washington, 
William Little, Alex. White, and Richard Ranson. Col. Charles 
Washington resided in a log-house, which stood a short distance 
from the town. A fine spring marks the spot. The whole of the 
land in the vicinity of Charlestown originally belonged to the 
Washington family, and a considerable portion still remains in the 
possession of their descendants. Col. Chas. Washington was the 
only brother of Washington that settled west of the Blue Ridge. 
He was an amiable, modest, and dignified gentleman, and in his 
appearance, as well as character, resembled his illustrious brother. 

Braddock's army, in their route to the west, passed through this 
region ; one mile west of the village, on the land of Bushrod Wash- 
ington, Esq., there is a well dug by them. 

The annexed view was taken in the central part of the village, 
looking down the principal street ; the public building on the right, 
is the court-house, recently erected. The town is flourishing, 
and contains 1 1 mercantile stores, a branch of the Bank of the Val- 
ley, an academy, newspaper printing-office, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Epis- 
copal, and 1 Methodist church, and a population of about 1,400. 



342 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 




Central view in Charlestown, Jefferson co. 

Washington's Masonic Cave is two and a half miles southeast of 
Charlestown. It is divided into several apartments, one of which 
is called the lodge-room. Tradition informs us that Washington, 
with others of the masonic fraternity, held meetings in this cavern. 
In the spring of 1844 the masons in this vicinity had a celebration 
there. 




Ruins of Trinity Church, Norborne Parish. 

About two miles southwest of Charlestown, near the line of the 
rail-road to Winchester, in an open, cultivated field, stand the re- 
mains of an ancient church. It is a venerable and picturesque 
ruin, overrun with vines, which, clinging in their beauty and ver- 
dure to the crumbling walls, gently wave in the passing winds. 
The cedar- wood of the windows is yet sound and fragrant, and on 
the w^alls are carved the names of visitors. Its age is unknown. 
The dead of other generations, who repose at its base, are despoiled 
of the monuments that once marked their resting-place, and gave 
token to the stranger of the names, and ages, and virtues of the 
departed. 

The Shannondale Springs are situated upon the Shenandoah 
River, near the Blue Ridge. They are easier of access from the 



KANAWHA COUNTY. 343 

Atlantic cities, than any others in Virginia. The cars from Balti- 
more will convey the traveller, in seven hours, through Harper's 
Ferry to Charlestown, at v^^hich place coaches run to the springs, 
a distance of five miles. The scenery of this place is most beau- 
tiful and magnificent, to which the engraving annexed by no means 
does justice. 

The late Dr. Dk Butts analyzed the Shannondale water in 1821. An examination 
was made from a quantity of the solid contents of both springs, obtained by evapora- 
tion. One hundred grains from the principal fountain afforded the following results : — 
sulphate of lime, 63 ; carbonate of lime, 10.5 ; sulphate of magnesia, (epsom salt,; 23.5 ; 
muriate of magnesia, 1 ; muriate of soda, 1 ; sulphate of iron, 0.3 ; carbonate of iron, 
0.7. Gaseous contents : — sulphureted hydrogen, quantity not ascertained ; carbonic 
acid, quantity not ascertained. Solid contents : 30 grains to the pint. Temperature : 
55'^ of Fahrenheit. 

Conformably to the preceding analysis, the Shannondale water may be properly classed 
with the Saline Chalyheates, a combination of the most valuable description in the 
whole range of mineral waters, and closely resembling the celebrated Bedford waters in 
composition, operation, and efficacy. 



KANAWHA. 

Kanawha was formed in 1789, from Greenbrier and Montgomery : 
it is about 60 miles long, with a mean breadth of 40 miles. Gauley 
River unites with New River, and forms the Great Kanawha upon 
the eastern border of the county. The Kanawha then flows 
through the county in a nw. direction, receiving in its passage 
through the county, Elk, Pocatalico, and Coal Rivers. The sur- 
face of the county is much broken. It is famous for its mineral 
treasures, salt, coal, &c. Pop., in 1840, whites 10,910, slaves 2,560, 
free colored 97 ; total, 13,567. 

The first settlement in what is now Kanawha county, was made about twenty miles 
above Charleston, at Kelly's creek, by a man after whom that creek was named. One 
of the first settlers was Lewis Tachet, concerning whom, and the marauding parties of 
Indians that harassed the early settlers, there are many traditions in the Kanawha val- 
ley. He erected a fort at the mouth of Cole River, which was destroyed by a party of 
Indians from the towns on the Scioto, in 1788, when his family were made prisoners. In 
1798 there was a fort built immediately above the mouth of Elk, on the site of Charles- 
ton. Among the earliest settlers were also the Morrisses from Culpeper, whose descend- 
ants, mostly of the first respectability, now form perhaps nearly a tenth of the popula- 
tion of the county. Joseph Carroll, the Clendenins, John Young, William Droddy, 
Andrew Donnally, Michael See, and John Jones, were also very early settlers. For 
many years they subsisted chiefly on buffalo, bear, elk, deer, and raccoon meat, and In- 
dian corn broken in stone mortars. In the Indian dialect, Kanawha signifies " river 
of the woods." Pocatalico, a considerable tributary of that stream, signifies ^'plenty 
of fat doe." 

Charleston, the seat of justice for the county, is 308 miles w. of 
Richmond, and 46 miles e. of the Ohio River. It is a neat and 
flourishing village on the north bank of the Kanawha. Charles- 
ton was named after Charles Clendenin, an early settler, and an 
owner of the soil forming its site. The first house of worship was 
built by the Methodists, the second by the Presbyterians, in 1830, 
and the third by the Episcopalians, in 1835. There are in the 



344 



KANAVVIJA COUNTY. 



place, 1 1 dry-goods and 6 grocery stores, 2 saw and grist mills, a 
newspaper printing-office, a branch of the Bank of Virginia, and 
a population of about 1,500. The district court of the United 
States is held at this place twice a year. Within the present cen- 
tury Charleston has arisen from the wilderness. Where, within 
the memory of man, a few scattered log-huts once arrested the 
traveller's eye, he now sees commodious and, in some instances, 
elegant buildings, the abodes of comfort and refinement. The 




View in Charleston, Kanawha county. 

Kanawha is here a beautiful sheet of water, more than 300 yards 
wide, and is navigated by steamboats. The state turnpike, the 
principal thoroughfare from Richmond to Guyandotte on the Ohio, 
passes through the town. Fine sandstone and bituminous coal 
abound in the vicinity. 

Terra Salis, or Kanawha Salines, is a flourishing town about 6 
miles above Charleston, containing 4 dry-goods and 2 grocery 
stores, an extensive iron-foundry, 1 Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, and 
1 Methodist church, and a population of about 800. 

The Kanawha salt-works commence on the river, near Charles- 
ton, and extend on both sides for about 15 miles, giving employ- 
ment, directly and indirectly, to about 3,000 persons. The view 
annexed was taken opposite the residence of Col. Reynolds, 6 or 
8 miles above Charleston, and gives an idea of the character of 
the scenery in which the salt-works are situated. The description 
below (written several years since) is from the pen of a gentle- 
man, now occupying a prominent office in the government of the 
state. 

It is nearly 20 miles below the falls before the Kanawha valley widens into some- 
thing like a plain, and opens its beautiful vista to the eye. The mountains which 
enclose it on either side become gradimlly depressed into hills ; and, for the first time, 
the dense, dark volumes of smoke which ascend from the salt-furnaces, announce the 



KANAWHA COUNTV. 



345 



busy and bustling scene which enlivens the highway to the village of Charleston. 
What a scene of animation, indeed, contrasted with the deep solitudes from which the 
traveller has but just emerged. Here he is feasted with a continued succession of 
green meadows and cultivated fields, teeming with flocks and herds, and adorned by 
commodious and even elegant mansions. The chimneys of the salt manufactories pour 




View of the Salt-Works on the Kanaioha. 

forth, at short intervals of space, their curling masses of black vapor, while swarms of 
laborers, and others connected with these establishments, are continually passing to and 
fro, presenting a pleasing coup d'aeil of incessant activity and industry. Nature, indeed, 
seems to have been prodigal in her bounties to this interesting region. The contiguous 
forests having been almost stripped to supply fuel to the salt-furnaces ; the precious 
mineral so necessary to human comfort, must have remained for ever useless but for 
the discovery of inexhaustible beds of coal, so convenient of access as to make the cost 
of procuring it scarcely worth considering. Sometimes, by suitable platforms and in 
clined culverts, it is thrown from the mountain-side immediately to the door of the 
manufactory, and when more remote from the place of consumption, it is transported 
with equal ease, in wagons or cars, over rail-roads constructed for the purpose. 

The whole product of the salt district is estimated at 1,200,000 bushels annually ; and 
this product must continue to swell with the increasing demand, and with the employ- 
ment of additional capital. It is a curious fact, and worthy of philosophical inquiry, 
that while the salt water is obtained by boring at a depth of from 3 to 500 feet below 
the bed of the Kanawha, it invariably rises to a level with the river. When the latter 
is swollen by rains, or the redundant waters of its tributaries, the saline fluid, enclosed 
in suitable gums on the shore, ascends like the mercury in its tube, and only falls when 
the river is restored to its wonted channel. How this mysterious correspondence is pro- 
duced, is a problem which remains to be solved. Theories and speculation I have heard 
on the subject, but none seem to me to be precisely consonant with the principles of 
Bcience. 

The discovery of salt water in this region was led to by a large 
buffalo-lick on the ne. side of the river, 5 miles above Charleston. 
In this lick the first salt- well was sunk, in 1809. 

Several vestiges remain on the Kanawha, which show that the Indians were ac- 
quainted with and made use of the salt water. Remains of rude pottery are found in 
abundance in the neighborhood, respecting which there is but little doubt that they are 
the remains of vessels used by them for the evaporation of the salt water. That the 
neighborhood of the Big Lick was their favorite resort, is evinced by the traces of their 
idle hours to be found upon the neighboring rocks. A short distance below the Big 

44 



346 KANAWHA COUNTY. 

Lick was, some years since, a rock called the pictured or calico rock, on which the 
natives had sculptured many rude figures of animals, birds, &c. This rock was finally 
destroyed to make furnace chimneys. Another similar sculptured rock is, or was lately, 
on the sw. side of the river, upon the summit of the nearest hill. The article annexed, 
originally published in the Lexington Gazette in 1843, above the signature of H. R., 
describes a curiosity peculiarly interesting to the scientific, and promising to have a 
wonderful influence upon the prosperity of this region. 

The Gas Wells of Kanawha. — These wonderful wells have been so lately discov- 
ered, that as yet only a brief and imperfect notice of them has appeared in the news- 
papers. But they are a phenomenon so very curious and interesting, that a more com- 
plete description will doubtless be acceptable to the public. 

They are, in fact, a new thing under the sun ; for in all the history of the world, it 
does not appear that a fountain of strong brine was ever before known to be mingled 
with a fountain of inflammable gas, sufficient to pump it out in a constant stream, and 
then, by its combustion, to evaporate the whole into salt of the best quality. 

We shall introduce our account of these wells by some remarks on the geological 
structure of the country at the Kanawha salt-works, and on the manner in which the 
salt water is obtained. 

The country is mountainous, and the low grounds along the river are altogether allu- 
vial, the whole space, of about a mile in width, having been at some time the bed of the 
river. The rocks are chiefly sandstone of various qualities, lying in beds, or strata, from 
two inches to several feet in thickness. These strata are nearly horizontal, but dipping 
a little, as in other parts of the country, towards the nw. At the salt-works they have 
somehow been heaved up into a swell above the line of general direction, so as to raise 
the deep strata nigher to the surface, and thus to bring those in which the salt water is 
found within striking-distance. 

Among the sand-rocks are found layers of slate and coal ; this latter being also, by 
the same upheaving, made more conveniently accessible than in most other parts of the 
country. 

The salt water is obtained by sinking a tight curb, or gum, at the edge of the river, 
down about twenty feet, to the rock which underlies the river, and then boring into the 
rock. At first the borings did not exceed two hundred feet in depth, but the upper 
strata of water being exhausted, the wells were gradually deepened, the water of the 
lower strata being generally stronger than the upper had ever been. Until last year, 
(1849,) none of the wells exceeded six or seven hundred feet in depth. Mr. Tompkins, 
an enterprising salt-maker, was the first to extend his borings to a thousand feet, or 
more. His experiment was attended with a most unexpected result. He had somewhat 
exceeded a thousand feet, when he struck a crevice in the rock, and forth, gushed a 
powerful stream of mingled gas and salt water. Generally, the salt water in the wells 
was obtained in rock merely porous, and rose by hydrostatic pressure to the level of the 
river. To obtain the strong water of the lower strata, unmixed with the weak water 
above, it is the practice to insert a copper tube into the hole, making it fit tightly below 
by means of wrapping on the outside, and attaching the upper end to the pump, by 
which the water is drawn up to the furnaces on the river bank. 

When Mr. Tompkins inserted his tube, the water gushed out so forcibly, that instead 
of applying the pump, he only lengthened his tube above the well. The stream followed 
it with undiminished velocity to his water-cistern, sixty feet above the level of the river. 

In the next place, he inserted the end of the spout from which the water and gas 
flowed, into a large hogshead, making a hole in the bottom to let out the water into the 
cistern. Thus the light gas was caught in the upper part of the hogshead, and thence 
conducted by pipes to the furnace, where it mingled with the blaze of the coal fire. It 
so increased the heat as to make very little coal necessary ; and if the furnace were 
adapted to the economical use of this gaseous fuel, it would evaporate all the water of 
the well, though the quantity is sufficient to make five hundred bushels of salt per day. 
The same gentleman has since obtained a second gas-well, near the former, and in all 
respects similar to it. Other proprietors of wells have also struck gas-fountains by deep 
boring. In one of these wells the gas forces the water up violently, but by fits, the 
gush continuing for some two or three hours, and then ceasing for about the same 
length of time. In another of these wells there has been very recently struck, a gas- 
fountain that acts with such prodigious violence as to make the tubing of the well in 
the usual way impossible ; when the copper tube was forced down through the rushing 
stream of brine and gas, it was immediately flattened by the pressure ; and the auger- 
hole must be enlarged to admit a tube sufficiently strong and capacious to give vent to 



KANAWHA COUNTY. 347 

the stream without being crushed. In another well, a mile and a half from any gas- 
well, a powerful stream of gas has been recently struck. It forces up the water with 
great power ; but, unfortunately for the proprietor, the water is too weak to be profitably 
worked. It appears from this fact, that the gas is not inseparably connected with 
strong brine. When struck before good salt water is reached, it will operate injuri- 
ously, for no water obtained below it can rise at all, unless the pressure of the gas 
be taken off by means of a strong tube extending below it. 

Several wells have been bored to a depth equal to that of the gas-wells, without 
striking the gas ; the source of which seems to lie below, perhaps far below, the 
depth of the wells. This light, elastic substance, wheresoever and howsoever generated, 
naturally presses upwards for a vent, urging its way through every pore and crevice 
of the superincumbent rocks ; and the well-borer's auger must find it in one of the 
narrow routes of its upward passage, or penetrate to its native coal-bed, before it will 
burst forth by the artificial vent. 

The opinion just intimated, that the gas originates in deep -coal-beds, is founded 
on the fact that it is the same sort of gas that constitutes the dangerous fire-damp 
of coalpits, and the same that is manufactured out of bituminous coal for illuminating 
our cities. It is a mixture of carbureted and sidphureted hydrogen. Philosophers 
tell us that bituminous coal becomes anthracite by the conversion of its bitumen and 
sulphur into this gas, and that water acts a necessary part in the process. Whether 
the presence of salt water causes a more rapid evolution of the gas, the present 
writer will not undertake to say ; but, somehow, the quantity generated in the salt 
region of Kanawha is most extraordinary. 

It finds in this region innumerable small natural vents. It is seen in many places 
bubbling up through the sand at the bottom of the river, and probably brings up 
salt water with it, as in the gas-wells, but in small quantity. The celebrated burning 
spring is the only one of its natural vents apparent on dry land. This stream of 
gas, unaccompanied by water, has forced its way from the rocks below, through 
seventy or eighty feet of alluvial ground, and within eighty yards of the river bank. 
It is near this burning spring where the principal gas-wells have been found. But, 
twenty-five years ago, or more, a gas-fountain was struck in a well two hundred 
feet deep, near Charleston, seven miles below the Burning Spring. This blew up, 
by fits, a jet of weak salt water twenty or thirty feet high. On a torch beino- ap- 
plied to it, one night, brilliant flames played and flashed about the watery column 
in the most wonderful manner. 



The Hon. Lewis Summers, (says a Kanawha paper,) was born of highly respectable 
parentage in Fairfax co., Nov. 7th, 1778. He entered upon the duties of active life 
during the presidency of the elder Adams. With the ardor which distinguished the 
Virginia youth at that period, he used his influence to achieve the civic victory which 
bore Mr. Jefferson into the presidential chair ; and, through a long life, adhered to the 
political principles of his younger days with an undeviating constancy. In 1808, here- 
moved to Gallipolis, Ohio, and served for several years in the senate and legislature of 
that state. In 1814, he took up his permanent residence in this county. In 1817-18, 
he served in the legislature of Virginia, and in Feb., 1819, he was chosen one of the 
judges of the general court, and a judge of the Kanawha judicial circuit. For some 
time he was a member of the board of public works of Va. ; and in 1829 he was elected 
a member of the convention to revise the constitution of the state. 

In all these relations his own strong, original, and vigorous mind, has been indelibly 
impressed upon the times and events with which he was connected. As a judge, he was 
most able and faithful. As a statesman, his efibrts were perseveringly directed to the 
best interests of his country. Most of all that Virginia has accomplished in the great 
work of internal improvement, has been ascribed to his exertions. 

In that most remarkable assemblage, the state convention for the amendment of the 
constitution of Va., which sat in 1829-30, the sterling, vigorous, and practical character 
of Judge Summers' mind made him, before the close of its deliberations, one of the 
most useful, if not one of the most conspicuous members of that illustrious body. As 
the able champion of the true principles of elective government, he, in that assembly, 
performed services and acquired a reputation which will ever cause his memory to bo 
cherished with warm and respectful affection by the people of western Virginia. 

Mr. Summers died at the White Sulphur Springs, August 27th, 1843, after havinj" 
been for more than 24 years one of the judges of the general court of Va. He wau 
interred in Charleston. 



348 KING AND aUEEN COUNTY. 



KING AND QUEEN. 

King and Queen was formed from New Kent in 1691, the third 
year of the reign of William and Mary. The Mattapony runs on 
its sw. and the Piankatank on a portion of its ne. boundary. Its 
length is 40 miles, mean width 1 1 miles. Immense beds of marl run 
through the county, and furnish an inexhaustible source of im- 
provement to the soil. No county in the state contains memorials 
of greater magnificence. On the Mattapony, a beautiful stream, 
are the vestiges of many ancient and once highly-improved seats, 
among which are Laneville, Pleasant Hill, Newington, Mantapike, 
Mantua, Rickahoe, White Hall, &c., known as the former resi- 
dences of the Braxtons, Corbins, Robinsons, &c. Cotton and In- 
dian corn are extensively produced. Pop. in 1840, whites 4,426, 
slaves 5.937, free colored 499 ; total, 10,862. 

The Court-House is near the Mattapony, 53 miles ne. from Rich- 
mond, Newtown in the n., and Little Plymouth in the s. part of 
the county, are small places ; the former, which is the largest, has 
about 20 dwellings. Dunkirk, now a post-office only, was, 30 or 
40 years since, a village of considerable trade ; but its unhealthi- 
ness and other causes have nearly obliterated it. 

This county is the birthplace of Carter Braxton, one of the signers of the Decla- 
ration of Independence. He was born at Newington, September 10th, 1736. His 
father was a wealthy planter, and his mother a daughter of Robert Carter, at one time 
president of the council of the colony. Mr. Braxton, having graduated at William and 
Mary at the age of nineteen, married Miss Judith Robinson, an accomplished lady, and 
daughter of a wealthy planter of Middlesex. His style of living was according to the 
general mode of southern hospitality of that day, and subjected him to great expense. 

As early as 1765, he was a member of the House of Burgesses when Patrick Henry's 
celebrated resolutions were passed. In 1769, when Gov. Botetourt, in consequence of 
the bold and spirited measures introduced, suddenly dissolved the Assembly, Mr. Braxton 
was one of the members who retired to a private room and signed a written non-im- 
portation agreement. In the next house, he was on three of the standing committees. 
He was elected a member from King William to the first Virginia convention, in 1774 
At the period of the disturbance caused by the removal of the gunpowder from the 
magazine at Williamsburg by Lord Dunmore, Mr. Braxton was essentially instrumental 
in effecting a settlement on the part of his lordship which pacified the excited populace. 
He was a very active and useful member of the last House of Burgesses ever convened 
in Virginia by royal authority, and was employed upon the committees of the house to 
whom were referred the subjects of dispute between his lordship and the legislature. Mr. 
Braxton was a member of the convention chosen by the people which met in Richmond 
in July, 1775, and was placed upon the committee of public safety. In December of 
the same year, he was appointed the successor of Peyton Randolph in Congress, that 
gentleman having died a short time previous. He was omitted in the election of mem- 
bers to Congress subsequent upon the Declaration of Independence. But on a meeting 
of the General Assembly, the first under the new constitution, of which he was a mem- 
ber, he, with Mr. Jeiferson, received a vote of thanlis from the Assembly, " for the eio. 
quence, ability, and integrity with which they executed the important trust reposed in 
them, as two of the delegates of the count'' i i^mir vv uuiini in the general Congress." 
He was a member of Congress from 1777 to 1783, and in 1785. From 1786 to 1791 he 
was a member of the council of the state, and from 1794 until the day of his death, 
Oct. 6th, 1797. Mr, Braxton's services, it will be seen, were highly important. The 
confidence and attachment of his constituents were unequivocally manifested in every 
vicissitude of circumstance, some of which were of the most afflictive liind, even to the 
close of his life. 



KING WILLIAM COUNTY. 349 



KING GEORGE. 

King George was formed in 1720, from Richmond county. It 
lies between the Potomac and the Rappahannock, and is 18 miles 
long, with a mean breadth of 10; its surface is hilly, and its soil 
diversified. Its principal products are Indian corn, oats, wheat, 
tobacco, and some cotton. Pop. in 1840, whites 2,269, slaves 
3,382, free colored 276 ; total, 5,927. 

King George C. H., situated near the centre of the county, 82 
miles NNE. from Richmond, and 76 sw. of Washington, contains 
about a dozen houses. Port Conway, on the Rappahannock, op- 
posite Port Royal, and Millville on the line of this and Westmore- 
land counties, are small villages 



KING WILLIAM. 

King William was formed in 1701 from King and Queen. The 
mean length of the county is 32 miles ; mean breadth 8^ miles. 
The county lies between the Pamunkey and Mattapony, which 
unite at the se. angle of the county, and form the York. The land 
on the borders of these streams is very fertile, and their waters 
afford convenient navigation, as well as fine shad and herring 
fisheries. Pop. in 1840, whites 3,150. slaves 5,780, free colored 
338 ; total, 9,258. King William C. H. lies 27 miles ne. of Rich- 
mond, 2 miles from the Mattapony. It contains but a few dwell- 
ings beside the public buildings, which are of brick, and stand in 
a handsome square. Ayletts is a small village at the head of 
navigation, on the Mattapony, 30 miles above its junction with the 
Pamunkey. 

The Pamunkey and the Mattapony meet at the southerly angle 
of the county, and form York River. The place of their junction 
is named West Point. It was the place of habitation of Opechan- 
canough, the brother of Powhatan, and king of Pamunkee. "He 
was the author of the great massacre in 1622, the 'Sicilian Ves- 
pers' of the colony. When very old and infirm, and nearly blind, 
he headed his people in battle, borne on a litter ; he was at length 
captured by Governor Berkeley, with a party of horse, and finally 
assassinated by a private hand while a prisoner at Jamestown, 
displaying to the last moment the fortitude of a 'stoic of the 
woods,' unimpaired by age, and unshaken by calamity." In " Ba- 
con's Rebellion," the followers of Bacon occupied West Point, and 
strongly fortified it. 

West Point was, anciently, a large village : it has now but one 
good house, and the ruins of several others. There is the rem- 
nant of the Mattapony tribe of Indians, now dwindled down to 
only 15 or 20 souls. Further up on the Pamunkey, at what is call- 



350 LEE COUNTY. 

ed Indian Town, are about 100 descendants of the Pamunkeys. 
Their Indian character is nearly extinct, by intermixing with the 
whites and negroes. Their land is in the hands of trustees ap- 
pointed to hold it for the tribe. They manufacture pottery and 
baskets very neatly. A traveller, as long ago as 1759, thus speaks 
of this Indian settlement : 

On the north side of Pamunkey River stands the Pamunkey Indian town, where at 
present are the few remains of that large tribe ; the rest having dwindled away through 
intemperance and disease. They live in little wigwams, or cabins, upon the river ; and 
have a very fine tract of land of about 2000 acres, which they are restrained from alien, 
ating by act of Assembly. Their employment is chiefly hunting or fishing for the neigh- 
boring gentry. They commonly dress like the Virginians, and I have sometimes mista- 
ken them for the lower sort of that people. 

On the banksofMoncuen creek, just above Warranuncock island, 
now known as Goodwin's island, are two Indian mounds or tumuli, 
somewhat reduced in size by cultivation, yet eight or ten feet high, 
and about sixty feet in diameter. Evident traces exist of an Indian 
settlement in the vicinity, on the Pampitike estate. 



LANCASTER. 

Lancaster was formed in 1652. It lies on the n. side of the 
Rappahannock, at its mouth, and is 24 miles long, with a mean 
breadth of 8 miles. Pop. in 1840, whites 1,903, slaves 2,478, free 
colored 247 ; total, 4,628. 

Lancaster C. H., situated near the centre of the county, 83 miles 
NE. of Richmond, contains a population of about 100. Kilmarnock 
is a small village on a creek putting up from Chesapeake Bay. 
Pain's Cross Roads, in the se. part of the county, was, 20 years 
since, a place of considerable trade ; but at present it has a few 
dwellings only. 

In the year 1762, James Waddel, the Blind Preacher described 
in Wirt's British Spy, was settled over the churches of Lancaster 
and Northumberland. His residence in the latter part of his time 
here, was on Curratoman River. For a more full notice of this 
extraordinary divine, see Orange county. 



LEE. 



Lee was formed in 1792, from Russell, and named after Henry 
Lee, Gov. of Va. from 1791 to 1794 ; it lies in the southwestern 
angle of the state, bordering on Tennessee and Kentucky. Its 
greatest length is 75 miles ; breadth 10 miles. The Cumberland 
mountains run on the Kentucky line, the Powell mountain is on a 
part of the se. boundary, and there are several other ridges in the 
county, known as Stone, Chesnut, Wallens, &c. Powell's River 



LEWIS COUNTY. 351 

runs lengthwise through the county into Tennessee. Much of the 
land is of a very black, rich soil. The staples are beef, pork, and 
horses. The people of this county make their own sugar and mo- 
lasses from the maple sugar tree, which grows in great abun- 
dance. Pop. in 1840, whites 7,829, slaves 580, free colored 32 ; to- 
tal, 8,441. 

Jonesville, the county-seat, lies 284 miles from Richmond, 65 
from Knoxville, Tenn., and 60 from Barboursville, Kentucky, on 
one of the branches of Powell's River. It stands on a beautiful 
eminence, in the midst of wild mountain scenery. It was founded 
in 1793, and contains a church, 5 stores, and about 40 dwellings. 
The following account of a duel which took place in this county 
in the year 1823, is from a newspaper of the time : 

A remarkable duel took place in Lee county, on Sunday, Dec. 7th, which has been 
the subject of much conversation here Two negro men, belonging to two gen- 
tlemen, had been smitten by the charms of a sable beauty, and neither being willing to 
yield to the other, they determined, like gentlemen, to decide their pretensions by a duel. 
The arrangement was accordingly made, and tliey met in a distant and retired wood, 
unattended by seconds, and without the knowledge of any other person — each armed 
with a trusty rifle. Their proceedings appear to have been conducted with a strict honor, 
the more remarkable in such case, as it was exhibited by slaves. The ground was meas- 
ured off about fifteen paces ; the antagonists took their posts ; the word was given by 
one of them, and both instantly fell — one shot through the heart, and the other through 
the right breast. The former expired immediately ; the latter, with great difficulty and 
pain, crawled to a small path not far from the scene of combat ; but unable to go fur- 
ther, he remained by it in the hope that some one would pass and find him. He lay 
there, under all the suffering which his wound and exposure inflicted, until the followmg 
Tuesday, before he was found. Depressed and debased as that unfortunate race is, 
there are occasional' instances in which they exhibit traits of character which elevate 
them above the sphere to which our policy compels us to confine them. The strict ob- 
servance of honorable conduct, and the cool, determined courage of these negroes, af- 
ford an example which ought to make some gentlemen of high condition blush 



LEWIS. 



Lewis was formed in 1816, from Harrison, and named in honor 
of Col. Charles Lewis, who fell at the battle of Point Pleasant. 
It is 60 miles long, with a mean width of about 20 miles. It is 
watered by the Little Kanawha and west fork of Monongahela ; 
the surface is rocky, hilly, and in some parts mountainous : on the 
streams there is considerable fertile land. Stone-coal of an ex- 
cellent quality abounds in some parts of the county. In 1843, 
portions of its territory were set off to the new counties of Barbour 
and Ritchie. Large quantities of sugar, and some tobacco, are 
raised in this county ; the greatest staple is Indian corn. Pop. in 
1840, whites 7,989, slaves 124, free colored 38 ; total, 8,151. 

Weston, the count3'^-seat, is situated at the west fork of Monon- 
gahela, 281 miles northwesterly from Richmond, and 50 from the 
Ohio River, and contains about 60 dwellings. 



352 LOUDON COUNTY. 



LOGAN. 

Logan was formed in 1824, from Giles, Kanawha, Cabell, and 
Tazewell, and named from the Mingo chief It is about 70 miles 
long, with a mean width of 35 miles. It is watered by Guyan- 
dotte, Tug Fork of Big Sandy, and branches of the Great Kanawha. 
The surface is generally mountainous, and the soil adapted to gra- 
zing. It is one of the largest, wildest, and most sparsely inhabited 
counties in the state, with a population of less than 2 persons to a 
square mile. Pop. in 1840, whites 4,159, slaves 150 ; total, 4,309. 

Lawnsville, or Logan C. H., is 351 miles west of Richmond, in 
a fertile bottom in a bend of the river Guyandotte, surrounded by 
mountains abounding in stone-coal and iron ore. It was laid off 
in 1827, and contains a few dwellings only. 

The destruction of the Roanoke settlement in the spring of 1757, by a party of 
Shawnees, gave rise to a campaign into this region of country, called by the old settlers 
" the Sandy creek voyage." This expedition was for the purpose of punishing the In- 
dians, and to establish a military post at the mouth of the Great Sandy, to counteract 
the influence of the French at Gallipolis with the Indians. It was composed of four 
companies, under the command of Andrew Lewis. The captains were Audley Paul, 
Wm. Preston, (ancestor of the late Gov. P.,) Wm. Hogg, and John Alexander, father of 
Archibald Alexander, D. D., president of Princeton Theological Seminary. The party 
were ordered, by a messenger from Gov. Fauquier, to return. They had then penetrated 
nearly to the Ohio, without accomplishing any of the objects of their expedition. When 
the army on their return arrived at the Burning spring, in the present limits of this 
county, they had suffered much from extreme cold, as well as hunger: their fear of 
alarming the Indians having prevented them from either hunting or kindling fires 
Some buffalo hides, which they had left at the spring on their way down, were cut into 
tuggsor long thongs, and eaten by the troops, after having been exposed to the heat from 
the flame of the spring. Hence they called the stream near by, now dividing Ken- 
tucky from Virginia, Tugg River, which name it yet bears. Several who detached 
themselves from the main body, to hunt their way home, perished. The main body, un- 
der Col. Lewis, reached home after much suffering ; the strings of their moccasins, the 
belts of their hunting-shirts, and the flaps of their shot-pouches, having been all the food 
they had eaten for several days. 



LOUDON. 

Loudon was formed in 1757, from Fairfax, and named in honor 
of the Earl of Loudon, commander of the military affairs in 
America during the latter part of the French and Indian war. It 
is about 28 miles long, and 22 broad. The Blue Ridge, forming 
its western boundary, rises to an altitude of 1000 to 1400 feet above 
tide- water, and from 300 to 700 above the adjacent country. 
Another range, of equal height, called the Short Hills, in the nw. 
part of the county, runs parallel with the Blue Ridge about 12 
miles. The Kittoctan mountain runs centrally through the county, 
parallel with the above. This county contains all varieties of 
soil, from rich alluvion to an unproductive clay. The eastern por- 
tion is most unproductive, in consequence of a wretched system 
of farming hitherto practised, of cropping with corn and tobacco, 
without endeavoring to improve the soil ; some of it, formerly fer- 



LOUDON COUNTY. 



353 



tile, is now thrown out to common as useless. The middle and 
western portion of the county has generally a good soil. Plaster 
of Paris and clover act finely in improving the soil. Pop. in 1840, 
whites 13,840, slaves 5,273, free colored 1,318; total, 20,431. 




Central View in Leesburg. 

Leesburg, the county-seat, lies in the northern part of the county, 
34 miles nw. of Washington, and 153 miles n. of Richmond. It 
was named from the Lee family, who were among the early set- 
tlers of the county: it was established in September, 1758, in the 
32d year of the reign of George II. Mr. Nicholas Minor, who 
owned 60 acres around the court-house, had then laid it off' into 
streets and lots, some of which, at the passage of the act, had been 
built upon. The act constituted the Hon. Philip Ludwell Lee, 
Esq., Thomas Mason, Esq., Francis Lightfoot Lee, James Hamil- 
ton, Nicholas Minor, Josias Clapham, ^Eneas Campbell, John Hugh, 
Francis Hague, and William West, gentlemen, trustees for the 
town. Leesburg is w^ell and compactly built, its streets are 
well paved, and it is supplied with fine water, conducted into the 
town in pipes from a neighboring spring at the base of a moun- 
tain. It contains the county buildings, (of which the court-house 
is shown in the above view,) 1 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopalian, and 
1 Methodist church, a bank, a very handsome academy recently 
erected, 1 newspaper printing-office, and a population of about 
1 500. During the French and Indian war, Braddock's army passed 
through here. Traces of the road cut by them are still discernible, 
about a mile s. of the village. Braddock remained in Leesburg 
several days ; the house he occupied (now down) stood in Loudon 
street. Washington, who was here, also put up in that portion 
of the town. Middleburg, near the line of Fauquier county, 16 
miles ssw. of Leesburg, is a flourishing village, surrounded by a 
fertile country. It contains 6 or 8 mercantile stores, 1 Epis., 1 

45 



354 LOUDON COUNTY. 

Met., and 1 free church used by Baptists, and a population of about 
500. Waterford, 6 miles nw. of Leesburg, contains 4 mercantile 
stores, 1 Friends' meeting-house, 1 free church, and about 70 dwell- 
ings. There are, beside these, several small villages in the county, 
containing from 6 to 25 dwellings ; among them are Aldie, Bloom- 
field, Hillsborough, Lovettsville, Mount Gilead, Montville, Phil- 
mont, Snickersville, and Union. 

" A very considerable contrast is observable in the manners of 
the inhabitants in the different sections of the county. That part 
lying NW. of Waterford was originally settled by Germans, and is 
called the German settlement ; and the middle of the county, sw. 
of Waterford and w. of Leesburg, was mostly settled by emigrants 
from the middle states, many of whom were Friends. In these 
two sections the farms are small, and cultivated by free labor." 
The Quakers in this state, as well as elsewhere, suffered much 
persecution at an early day. By referring to page 151 of this 
volume, the reader will perceive the severity of the laws passed 
against them in the early history of Virginia. In the revolution, 
their non-conformity to the military laws of the state, from con- 
scientious motives, brought them into difficulty, as will be seen in 
the annexed extract from Kercheval : — 

At the beginning of the war, attempts were made to compel them to bear arms and 
serve in the militia ; but it was soon found unavailing. They would not perform any 
military duty required of them : not even the scourge would compel them to submit to 
discipline. The practice of coercion was therefore abandoned, and the legislature en- 
acted a law to levy a tax upon their property, to hire substitutes to perform militia duty 
in their stead. This, with other taxes, bore peculiarly heavy upon them. Their per- 
sonal property was sold under the hammer to raise these public demands ; and before 
the war was over, many of them were reduced to great distress in their pecuniary cir- 
cumstances. 

This selling of Quakers' property afforded great opportunity for designing individuals 
to make profitable speculations. They continued to refuse to pay taxes for several 
3'ears after the war, holding it unlawful to contribute their money towards discharging 
the war debt. This being at length adjusted, no part of our citizens pay their puWic 
demands with more punctuality, (except their muster-fines, which they still refuse to 
pay.) Owing to their industrious and sober habits, they soon recovered from their pe- 
cuniary distress produced by the war, and are, generally speaking, the most independent 
part of our community. Vast numbers of them have migrated to the western country, 
and several of their meetings are entirely broken up. They continued their ancient 
practice of depending upon their household manufactures for their clothing ; and it was 
a long time before they gave in to the practice of purchasing European goods. A few 
of them entered into the mercantile business ; several others erected fine merchant mills ; 
others engaged in mechanical pursuits ; but the great body of them are farmers, and 
are generally most excellent cultivators of the soil. 



All who have read Lee's " Memoirs of the War," will doubtless 
recollect the thrilling narration of the pretended desertion of John 
Champe, sergeant-major of Lee's celebrated partisan legion. He 
perilled his life, and, what was far more sacred to this high-minded 
soldier, his reputation, to bring the traitor Arnold into the power 
of the Americans, and thus save the life of the unfortunate Andre ; 
but his well-laid plans were frustrated. Champe was a native of 
this county. Near the close of the revolution he returned to Lou- 



LOUDON COUNTY. 355 

don, but removed thence after some years to Kentucky, where he 
died. When Champe arrived in New York, he was placed in the 
company of a Captain Cameron, in Arnold's legion. A portion of 
Cameron's private journal, published in the British United Service 
Journal, gives some interesting anecdotes of Champe. Among 
others, it seems that his old captain after the war married in Vir- 
ginia, and while travelling through Loudon with his servant, was 
benighted in a severe thunder-storm in the woods. Their situation 
was one of peril. They at last descried a light glimmering through 
the trees, and found it to proceed from a log-house, in which they 
sought shelter. They were most cordially received by its owner, 
as will be seen in the annexed extract from the journal of Capt. 
Cameron : 

He would not permit either master or man to think of their horses, but insisting that 
we should enter the house, where fire and changes of apparel awaited us, he himself led 
the jaded animals to a shed, rubbed them down, and provided them with forage. It 
would have been affectation of the worst kind to dispute his pleasure in this instance, so 
I readily sought the shelter of his roof, to which a comely dame bade me welcome, and 
busied herself in preventing my wishes. My drenched uniform was exchanged for a suit 
of my host's apparel ; my servant was accommodated in the same manner, and we soon 
afterwards found ourselves seated beside a blazing fire of wood, by the light of which 
our hostess assiduously laid out a well-stocked supper table. I need not say that all this 
was in the highest degree comfortable. Yet I was not destined to sit down to supper with- 
out discovering still greater cause for wonder. In due time our host returned, and the first 
glance which I cast towards him satisfied me that he was no stranger. The second set 
every thing like doubt at rest. Sergeant Champe stood before me ; the same in com- 
plexion, in feature, though somewhat less thoughtful in the expression of his eye, as 
when he first joined my company in New York. 

I cannot say that my sensations on recognising my ci-devant sergeant were altogether 
agreeable. The mysterious manner in which he both came and went, the success with 
which he had thrown a veil over his own movements, and the recollection that I was 
the guest of a man who probably entertained no sense of honor, either public or private, 
excited in me a vague and undefined alarm, which I found it impossible on the instant 
to conceal. I started, and the movement was not lost upon Champe. He examined 
my face closely ; and a light appearing to burst in all at once upon his memory, he ran 
forward towards the spot where I sat. 

" Welcome, welcome. Captain Cameron," said he, " a thousand times welcome to my 
roof ; you behaved well to me while I was under your command, and deserve more of 
hospitality than I possess the power to offer ; but what I do possess is very much at your 
service, and heartily glad am I that accident should have thus brought us together again. 
You have doubtless looked upon me as a twofold traitor, and I cannot blame you if you 
have. Yet I should wish to stand well in your estimation, too ; and therefore I will, if 
you please, give a faithful narrative of the causes which led both to my arrival in New 
York, and to my abandonment of the British army on the shores of the Chesapeake. 
But I will not enter upon the subject now. You are tired with your day's travel ; you 
stand in need of food and rest. Eat and drink, I pray you, and sleep soundly ; and to- 
morrow, if you are so disposed, I will try to put my own character straight in the esti- 
mation of the only British officer of whose good opinion I am covetous." 

There was so much frankness and apparent sincerity in this, that I could not resist it, 
so I sat down to supper with a mind perfectly at ease ; and having eaten heartily, I 
soon afterwards retired to rest, on a clean pallet which was spread for me on the floor. 
Sleep wEis not slow in visiting my eyelids : nor did I awake until long after the sun had 
risen on the morrow, and the hardy and active settlers, to whose kindness I was indebted, 
had gone through a considerable portion of their day's labor. 

I found my host next morning the same open, candid, and hospitable man that he had 
shown himself on first recognising me. He made no allusion, indeed, during breakfast, 
to what had fallen from him over night ; but when he heard me talk of getting my 
horses ready, he begged to have a few minutes' conversation with me. His wife, for 



356 



LOUDON COUNTY. 



such my hostess was, immediately withdrew, under the pretext of attending to her 
household affairs, upon which he took a seat beside me and began his story. 




Oak Hill, the Seat of President Monroe. 

Oak Hill, the seat of the late James Monroe, President of the 
/^ United States, is situated 9 miles s. of Leesburg, on a commanding 
eminence enveloped in a beautiful grove of oaks, locusts, and 
poplars. The place is now in the possession of Samuel L. Gover- 
neur, Esq., a son-in-law of Mr. Monroe. The main building, with 
a Grecian front, is of brick, and was built by Mr. Monroe while 
in the presidential chair. The one on the left is a wooden dwell- 
ing of humble pretensions, and was occupied by him previous to 
his inauguration. The memoir annexed is from the Encyclopaedia 
Americana. 




Facsimile of the signature of James Monroe. 



James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, was born in Westmoreland 
county, April 28th, 1758. He graduated at William and Mary, and having entered as a 
cadet in the American army in 1776, he was soon after appointed Lieutenant. He was 
in the battle of Harlaem Heights, White Plains, and Trenton. At the latter, perceiving 
that the enemy were endeavoring to form a six-gun battery at the head of King-street, 
Lieut. Monroe, with Capt. Wm. Washington, rushed forward with the advance-guard, 
drove the artillerists from their guns, and took two pieces which they were in the act of 
firing. These officers were both wounded in this successful enterprise, and for his gal- 
lant conduct, Lieut. Monroe was promoted to a captaincy. He was aid to Lord Stirling 
in the campaigns of 1777 and 1778, and was at Brandywine, Germantown, and Mon- 
mouth, in which actions he distinguished himself. By the recommendation of Washing- 
ton, he was appointed to raise a regiment, of which he was to be given the command ; 
but in the exhausted state of Virginia, he failed to raise his regiment, and therefore re- 
Bumed the study of the law under Jefferson, then governor of the state. He was active 
as a volunteer in the militia, and in the subsequent invasions of Virginia, and in 1780 



LOUDON COUNTY. 357 

visited the southern army, under De Kalb, as a military commissioner, at the request of 
Mr. Jefferson. 

In 1782, he was a member of the Virginia legislature, and of the executive council, 
and in 1783, at the age of 24, a member of Congress, in which he served three years. 
He was always at his post, and engaged in the most arduous duties. He introduced a 
resolution to vest in Congress the power to regulate the trade with all the states, and 
other important resolutions. He was appointed a commissioner to settle the boundary 
between New York and Massachusetts. In 1787 he was again a member of the Vir- 
ginia legislature, and in 1788, of the Virginia convention. From 1790 to 1794 he was 
a member of the United States senate. From 1794 to 1796 he was minister plenipo- 
tentiary to France, and he was recalled by Washington, under an implied censure. In 
1799, under the nomination of Mr, Madison, he was appointed governor of Virginia. 
In 1803 he was minister extraordinary to France, to act in conjunction with Mr. Liv- 
ingston, the resident minister. 

This mission was of the utmost consequence, as it terminated in the acquisition of 
Louisiana. In the same year, he was appointed minister to London, and in 1804, to 
Spain. In 1806, in conjunction with the late William Pinckney, he was appointed min- 
ister to London, where he pursued the negotiations with the Fox ministry. Mr. Monroe 
having been prominently brought forward as a candidate for the presidency, as the suc- 
cessor of Mr. Jefferson, returned from London ; but soon after withdrew from the can- 
vass. In 1810 he was again elected to the legislature, and again appointed governor. 
He was appointed secretary of state, Nov. 26, 1811. The war department being in a 
very embarrassed state, on the departure of its head. Gen. Armstrong, Mr. Monroe un- 
dertook it, and made extraordinary and very useful exertions to help the war on the 
lakes, and the defence of New Orleans. After he had reduced to order the war depart, 
menl, he resumed the duties of the department of state ; which he continued to exercise 
until, in 1817, he was chosen successor to James Madison in the presidency. In 1821, 
he was re-elected by a vote unanimous, with a single exception, one vote in New Hamp- 
shire having been given to J. Q. Adams. 

Mr. Monroe was wise and fortunate in the selection of his ministers. He went fur- 
ther than either of his two immediate predecessors, in maintaining the necessity of an 
efficient general government, and in strengthening every arm of the national defence. 
He encouraged the army, increased the navy, and caused those foreign naval expeditions 
to be sent out to the West Indies, the Mediterranean, the coast of Africa, and the shores 
of South America, which have given instruction to our officers, augmented our seamen, 
protected the national commerce, and caused the country to be universally respected by 
distant nations. He ordered the principal headlands, and exposed points along our bor- 
ders and sea-coasts, to be accurately surveyed, plans of fortifications drawn, and the re- 
ports made up, with a view to the ultimate complete defence of the frontiers of the Uni- 
ted States, both on the land and sea-side. He directed inquiries, surveys, and plans, as 
to the most suitable sites for the northern and southern naval depots for the repair and 
accommodation of our fleets, in time of war and peace. The cession of Florida, by 
Spain, to the United States, was effected during his administration. It was during his 
administration, that the emancipated Spanish and Portuguese colonies were formally re. 
cognised by the United States. He assumed high constitutional ground in favor of in- 
ternal improvement and the United States Bank. He was mainly instrumental in pro- 
moting the pension law for the relief of indigent revolutionary soldiers. During his 
administration the illustrious Lafayette visited these shores as the guest of the nation. 
He took the most energetic measures in favor of the abolition of the slave-trade, and 
continued to encourage the establishment of the principles of commerce with all nations, 
upon the basis of free and equal reciprocity. 

It is a high compliment to the firmness, judgment, and sagacity of Mr. Monroe, that 
he proclaimed to the world the determination of the United States not to suffer any Eu- 
ropean government to interfere with the internal concerns of the independent South 
American governments. The well-timed expression of this sentiment put an end to all 
rumors of any armed intervention in the affairs of Spanish America Col. Monroe re- 
tired from the office of president at the end of his second term. 

In the late stages of his life, he was associated with the ex-presidents Jefferson and 
Madison, in founding the University of Virginia. Subsequently, he was chosen a mem- 
ber of the convention of 1829-30, for revising the state constitution, and presided over 
its deliberations. He did not disdain to act as justice of the peace in Loudon. 

Mr. Monroe died at New York, July 4th, 1831, the anniversary of American Inde. 
pendence, like the ex-presidents Jefferson and Adams. Col. Monroe's biography is inti* 



358 LOUISA COUNTY. 

niately and honorably connected with the civil and military history of the United States. 
He was one of the leaders of the democratic or Jefferson party, and involved in most of 
the party questions and occurrences by which the country was divided and agitated. He 
possessed a very energetic, persevering spirit ; a vigorous mind, and extraordinary powers 
of application. In his unlimited devotion to public business, he neglected his private af- 
fairs. He retired from office extremely deep in debt ; a situation from which he was re- 
lieved, though when almost too late, by liberal appropriations of Congress to satisfy the 
large claims which he preferred on the government for moneys disbursed, and debts in- 
curred on its account. 



LOUISA. 



Louisa was formed from Hanover in 1742: its mean length is 
30. mean breadth 18 miles. The county is watered by the North 
and South Anna Rivers and their numerous branches. The sur- 
face is hilly ; the soil, originally of middling fertility, has been in- 
jured by injudicious agriculture. Several gold mines have been 
opened in the county, but not worked with much profit: in 1840 
the gold mined was worth $3,000. Pop. in 1840, whites 6,047, 
slaves 9,010, free colored 376 ; total, 15,433. 

Louisa C. H., 60 miles nw. of Richmond, on the line of the Louisa 
rail-road, is a small village containing a few dwellings only. 
There are no places of note in the county. 

Louisa has been the scene of no important historical incident. 
Its citizens bore their full share in the Indian and French war of 
1755, and in the war of the revolution. Tarleton Math his cavalry 
passed up by the court-house in 1781, on his expedition into Albe- 
marle : and when Lafayette had united with Wayne at the Raccoon 
Ford, on the Rapid Ann, and turned to pursue the British general 
from whom he had been retreating, he made a forced and rapid 
march across this county, from Brock's bridge on the North Anna, 
to the Fluvanna line, in order to intercept the enemy. The road 
which he opened for this purpose is still known as " the Marquis's 
road ,•" passing southwesterly three or four miles above the Green 
Spring. In the same year, two toiies who had attached them- 
selves, as marauders, to the British army, were summarily hung by 
one Holland and another man, near the Goochland boundary, 
twenty-one miles south from Louisa C. H., with the countenance 
and before the eyes of the neighboring people. Louisa first sent 
Patrick Henry as a delegate to the House of Burgesses in 1765, 
soon after his removal from Hanover ; and she again elected him 
in 1776-7, till he returned to his native county. 

As the Virginia House of Burgesses had the merit of originating 
that powerful engine of resistance — corresponding committees be- 
tween the legislatures of the different colonies — so Louisa had the 
honor of furnishing the member, in the person of Dabney Carr, 
Esq., who introduced the measure March i2th, 1773. The resolu- 
tions adopted were entered upon the public journals, one of 
which placed Mr. Carr on the standing committee of correspond- 
ence and inquiry. Wirt says of him : 



LUNENBURG COUNTY. 359 

In supporting these resolutions, Mr. Carr made his dehuf, and a noble one It Is said 
to have been. This gentleman, by profession a lawyer, had recently commenced his 
practice at the same bar with Patrick Henry ; and although he had not yet reached the 
meridian of life, he was considered by far the most formidable rival in forensic eloquence 
that Mr. Henry had ever yet had to encounter. He had the advantage of a person at 
once dignified and engaging, and the manner and action of an accomplished gentleman. 
His education was a finished one ; his mind trained to correct thinking ; his conceptions 
quick, and clear, and strong ; he reasoned with great cogency, and had an Imagination 
which enlightened beautifully, without interrupting or diverting the course of his argu- 
ment. His voice was finely toned, his feelings acute ; his style free, and rich, and vari- 
ous ; his devotion to the cause of liberty verging on enthusiasm ; and his spirit firm 
and undaunted, beyond the possibility of being shaken. With what delight the House 
of Burgesses hailed this new champion, and felicitated themselves on such an access to 
their cause, It Is easy to Imagine. But what are the hopes and expectations of mortals ! 

" Ostendent terris hunc tantuin fata, neque ultra 
" Esse sinent — " 

In two months from the time at which this gentleman stood before the House of Bur- 
gesses, In all the pride of health, and genius, and eloquence — he was no more : lost to his 
friends and to his country, and disappointed of sharing in that noble triumph which 
awaited the illustrious band of his compatriots. 



LUNENBURG. 

Lunenburg was formed in 1746 from Brunswick : its length is 25, 
mean breadth 16 miles. The Meherrin runs on its southern bound- 
ary, and the Nottoway on its northern. Pop. in 1840, whites 4,132, 
slaves 6,707, free colored 216; total, 11,055. 

Lewiston, the county-seat, situated in an elevated and healthy 
part of the county, 78 miles sw. of Richmond, was laid off in 1817 
by act of Assembly, when there was but one family residing here. 
It now contains about 20 dwellings. 

When the British invaded Virginia in 1781, Tarleton, with his 
legion, passed through this county and committed depredations 
upon the people. His men entered private dwellings, and wan- 
tonly ripped open beds and scattered their contents, notwithstand- 
ing the tears and remonstrances of the females, whose husbands 
and brothers were mostly with the army. The Rev. Mr. Craig, a 
strenuous whig, owned a fine mill a few miles from the C. H., 
where flour was manufactured for the American troops. To this 
mill Tarleton was guided by a young tory. The old parson, hear- 
ing of the proximity of the enemy, was busily engaged in rolling 
the last barrel of flour with the U. S. mark into the mill-pond, 
when Tarleton appeared at the head of his men. They burnt the 
mill, a trace of the dam of which is now to be seen, and compelled 
the good old parson to off" with his coat and assist in slaughtering 
his pigs for their use. They carried off Ms slaves, but they, with 
a single exception, returned, reporting that they were harshly used 
by the enemy.* 

* From mss. of R. F. Astrop, Esq., containing historical and descriptive matter re- 
lating to this section of the state. 



360 MASON COUNTY. 



MADISON. 



Madison was formed in 1792, from Culpeper. It is about 23 
miles long, and 13 miles wide. It lies at the eastern foot of the 
Blue Ridge, from which extend several mountains into the west- 
ern part of the county, some of the smaller of which are very 
fertile. The tobacco raised on the highlands is of a superior 
quality; between the mountains are fine valleys of rich bottom 
land. The county is watered by the Rapid Ann and its branches. 
Pop. in 1840, whites 3,729, slaves 4,308, free colored 70 ; total, 
8,107. 

Madison, the county-seat, is 97 miles nnw. of Richmond. It is 
situated in the heart of the county, on a high and elevated ridge, 
and commands a beautiful and picturesque view of the Blue Ridge 
and the neighboring mountains. It contains 4 mercantile stores, 
1 Baptist and 1 Episcopal church, and about 50 dwellings. At 
the post-ofRces of Rapid Ann Meeting-House and Leon are a few 
dwellings ; the first contains a Baptist and a Free church. 

The late Hon. Linn Banks, of this county, " for 20 successive years was speaker of 
the House of Delegates, an office for which he was so peculiarly qualified, that he was 
selected to fill it in all the mutations of party. He retired from the legislature in 1838, 
and was elected to Congress in that year, to complete the unexpired term of Mr. Patton, 
who was chosen counsellor. He was re-elected in 1839, and again in 1841. He served 
in the extra session of 1841, and then agreed with his competitor, to submit their cause 
to the people of his district. He consequently resigned his seat, which was obtained by 
his opponent, the majority against him being small. He was found drowned (Feb. 
24th, 1842) in a stream which he had to cross in going from Madison Court-House to 
his residence, a few months after he was thus consigned to private life." 



MASON. 



Mason was formed in 1804 from Kanawha, and named from the 
celebrated statesman George Mason. It is about 30 miles long 
and 22 broad. The Ohio forms its western boundary, and the 
Great Kanawha passes centrally through it. The surface is bro- 
ken, and much of the soil of a good quality. Pop., whites 5,923, 
slaves 808, free colored 46 ; total, 6,777. 

Buffalo, in the se. part of the county, on the e. bank of the 
Kanawha, 21 miles from its mouth, contains a Presbyterian church 
and about 20 dwellings. 

Point Pleasant, the county-seat, is situated at the junction of 
the Great Kanawha with the Ohio, 370 miles west of Richmond. 
It contains 1 Episcopalian and 1 Presbyterian church, 3 mercantile 
stores, 1 steam flour, and 1 steam saw-mill, 2 tanneries, and about 
50 dwellings. 

There was once an Indian town of the Shawnee tribe at the mouth of Old Town 
creek, near Point Pleasant, on the land of Thomas Lewis, Esq., the clerk of the county 
It was deserted by them, it is supposed, about the year 1760. In ploughing there in 
1798, about 80 gun-barrels were found. An anvil, a vice, hammers, and other black- 



MASON COtrNTY. 



361 



emith's tools have been disinterred. Mr. Lewis, the county clerk, has opened several of 
the small mounds which abound in this section, and found a gun-barrel, a camp kettle, 
a butcher knife, tomahawk, a pewter basin, a variety of beads, and human skeletons. 




OHIO 



V&ji 




Point Pleasant is on the site of the bloodiest battle ever fought 
with the Indians in Virginia,— ^Ae hattle of Point Pleasant — which 
took place in Dunmore's war, Oct. 10th, 1774. 

To illustrate more clearly this desperate action, we present our readers with a plan of 
the battle-ground, with explana- 
tory references, obtained by us 
wlule at Point Pleasant, in the 
autumn of 1843 : a. A small pond 
and ravine where the action com- 
menced, and where Col. Charles 
Lewis was mortally wounded. 
From this place, at right angles to 
the Ohio, to Crooked creek, both 
armies, early in the action, were 
extended through the woods. Af- 
ter a while the Indian line extend- 
ed further down on the creek, d. _ . 

Position of the fort built after the ^^- „ XfTf) '9^^ ^ -t^J^ 

battle. All the officers who fell in 

the battte were buried at or near 

this spot, in what is now known as 

the Point Lot. h. The court-house. 

c. Cornstalk's grave. He was ori- Plan of the hattle of Point Pleasant. 

ginally buried near the Kanawha ; but a few years since his remains v/ere disinterred, 

and removed to their present resting-place. 

The subjoined account of this action, is from the work of Withers : 

The army destined for this expedition was composed of volunteers and militia, 
chiefly from the counties west of the Blue Ridge, and consisted of two divisions. The 
northern division, comprehending the troops collected in Frederick, Dunmore, (now 
Shenandoah,) and the adjacent counties, was to be commanded by Lord Dunmore in 
person ; and the southern, comprising the different companies raised in Botetourt, Au- 
gusta, and the adjoining counties east of the Blue Ridge, was to be led on by Gen. An- 
drew Lewis. These two divisions, proceeding by different routes, were to form a 
junction at the mouth of the Big Kanawha, and from thence penetrate the country 
northwest of the Ohio River, as far as the season would admit of their going, and de- 
stroy all the Indian towns and villages which they could reach. 

About the first of September, the troops placed under the command of Gen. Lewis 
rendezvoused at Camp Union, (now Lewisburg,) and consisted of two regiments, com- 
manded by Col. William Fleming of Botetourt, and Col. Charles Lewis of Augusta, and 
containing about four hundred men each. At Camp Union they were joined by an in- 
dependent volunteer company under Col. John Field of Culpeper, a company from 
Bedford under Capt. Buford, and two from the Holstein settlement, (now Washington 
county,) under Capts. Evan Shelby and Harbert. These three latter companies were 
part of the forces to be led on by Col. Christian, who was likewise to join the two main 
divisions of the army at Point Pleasant, so soon as the other companies of his regiment 
could be assembled. The force under Gen. Lewis, having been thus augmented to 
eleven hundred men, commenced its march for the mouth of Kanawha on the 11th of 
September, 1774. 

From Camp Union to the point proposed for the junction of the northern and south- 
ern divisions of the army, a distance of one hundred and sixty miles, the intermediate 
country was a trackless forest, so rugged and mountainous as to render the progress of 
the army at once tedious and laborious. Under the guidance of Capt. Matthew Ar- 
buckle, they, however, succeeded in reaching the Ohio River, after a march of nineteen 
days ; and fixed their encampment on the point of land immediately between that river 
and the Big Kanawha. The provisions and ammunition, transported on pack-horses, 
and the beeves in droves, arrived soon after. 

46 



362 MASON COUNTY. 

When the southern division arrived at Point Pleasant, Governor Dunmore, with the 
forces under his command, had not reached there ; and unable to account for his failure 
to form the preconcerted junction at that place, it vi^as deemed advisable to await that 
event ; as by so doing a better opportunity would be afforded to Col. Christian of com- 
ing up with that portion of the army which was then with him. Meanwhile Gen. 
Lewis, to learn the cause of the delay of the northern division, dispatched runners by 
land in the direction of Fort Pitt, to obtain tidings of Lord Dunmore, and to commu- 
nicate them to him immediately. In their absence, however, advices were received 
from his lordship, that he had determined on proceeding across the country, directly to 
the Shawnee towns ; and ordering Gen. Lewis to cross the river, march forward, and 
form a junction with him near to them. These advices were received on the 9th of 
October, and preparations were immediately begun to be made for the transportation of 
the troops over the Ohio River. 

Early on the morning of Monday, the tenth of that month, two soldiers left the 
camp, and proceeded up the Ohio River, In quest of deer. When they had progressed 
about two miles, they unexpectedly came in sight of a large number of Indians rising 
from, their encampment, and who, discovering the two hunters, fired upon them and 
killed one ; the other escaped unhurt, and running briskly to the camp, communicated 
the intelligence, " that he had seen a body of the enemy, covering four acres of ground, 
as closely as they could stand by the side of each other." The main part of the army 
was immediately ordered out under Cols. Charles Lewis,* and William Fleming ; and 
having formed Into two lines, they proceeded about four hundred yards, when they met 
the Indians, and the action commenced. 

At the first onset, Col. Charles Lewis having fallen, and Col. Fleming being wounded, 
both lines gave way and were retreating briskly towards the camp, when they were met 
by a reinforcement under Col. Field, t and rallied. The engagement then became gen- 
eral, and was sustained with the most obstinate fury on both sides. The Indians per- 
ceiving the " tug of war" had come, and determined on affording the colonial army no 
chance of escape, If victory should declare for them, formed a line extending across the 
point, from the Ohio to the Kanawha, and protected In front by logs and fallen timber. 
In this situation they maintained the contest with unabated vigor, from sunrise till to- 
wards the close of evening ; bravely and successfully resisting every charge which was 
made on them ; and withstanding the impetuosity of every onset, with the most invin- 
cible firmness, until a fortunate movement on the part of the Virginia troops decided 
the day. 

Some short distance above the entrance of the Kanawha River into the Ohio, there is 
a stream called Crooked creek, emptying Into the former of these, from the northeast, 
whose banks are tolerably high, and were then covered with a thick and luxuriant 
growth of weeds. Seeing the Impracticability of dislodging the Indians by the most 
vigorous attack, and sensible of the great danger which must arise to his army, if the 
contest were not decided before night. Gen. Lewis detached the three companies which 
were commanded by Capts. Isaac Shelby, George Matthews, and John Stuart, with or- 
ders to proceed up the Kanawha River and Crooked creek, under cover of the banks 
and weeds, till they should pass some distance beyond the enemy ; when they were to 
emerge from their covert, march downward towards the point, and attack the Indians 
in their rear. The manoeuvre thus planned was promptly executed, and gave a decided 
victory to the colonial army. The Indians finding themselves suddenly and unexpect- 
edly encompassed between two armies, and not doubting but that in their rear was the 
looked-for reinforcement under Col. Christian, soon gave way, and about sundown com- 
menced a precipitate retreat across the Ohio, to their towns on the Scioto. The victory, 
indeed, was decisive, and many advantages were obtained by It ; but they were not 
cheaply bought. The Virginia army sustained in this engagement a loss of seventy-five 

* Few officers were ever more, or more deservedly, endeared to those under their command than Col. 
Charles Lewis. In the many skirmishes which it was his fortune to have with the Indians, he was 
uncommonly successful ; and in the various scenes of life through which he passed, his conduct was 
invariably marked by the distinguishing characteristics of a mind of no ordinary stamp. His early fall 
on this bloody field was severely felt during the whole engagement ; and to it has been attributed the 
partial advantages gained by the Indian army near the commencement of the action. When the fatal 
ball struck him, he fell at the root of a tree ; from whence he was carried to his tent, against his wish, 
by Capt. William Morrow and a Mr. Bailey, of Capt. Paul's company, and died in a few hours after- 
wards. 

t An active, enterprising, and meritorious officer, who had been in service in Braddock's war, and 
profited by his experience of the Indian mode of fighting. His death checked for a time the ardor of his 
troops, and spread a gloom over the countenances of those who accompanied him on this campaign. 



MASON COUNTY. 363 

killed, and one hundred and forty wounded — about one-fifth of the entire number of 
the troops. 

Among the slain were Cols. Lewis and Field ; Capts. Buford, Morrow, Wood, CundifF, 
Wilson, and Robert McClannahan ; and Lieuts. Allen, Goldsby, and Dillon, with some 
other subalterns. The loss of the enemy could not be ascertained. On the morning 
after the action, Col. Christian, who had arrived after the battle was ended, marched 
his men over the battle-ground, and found twenty-one of the Indians lying dead ; and 
twelve others were afterwards discovered, where they had been attempted to be con- 
cealed under some old logs and brush. 

From the great facihty with which the Indians either carry off or conceal their dead, 
it is always difficult to ascertain the number of their slain ; and hence arises, in some 
measure, the disparity between their known loss and that sustained by their opponents 
in battle. Other reasons for this disparity are to be found in their peculiar mode of war- 
fare, and in the fact that they rarely continue a contest, when it has to be maintained 
with the loss of their warriors. It would not be esisy otherwise to account for the cir- 
cumstance, that even when signally vanquished, the list of their slain does not, fre- 
quently, appear more than half as great as that of the victors. In this particular 
instance, many of the dead were certainly thrown into the river. 

Nor could the number of the enemy engaged be ever ascertained. Their army is 
known to have been composed of warriors from the different nations north of the Ohio, 
and to have comprised the flower of the Shawanee, Delaware, Mingo, Wyandotte, and 
Cayuga tribes ; led on by men whose names were not unknown to fame,* and at the 
head of whom was Cornstalk, sachem of the Shawanees, and king of the northern con- 
federacy. 

This distinguished chief and consummate warrior, proved himself on that day to be 
justly entitled to the prominent station which he occupied. His plan of alternate retreat 
and attack was well conceived, and occasioned the principal loss sustained by the 
whites. If at any time his warriors were believed to waver, his voice could be heard 
above the din of arms, exclaiming, in his native tongue : " Be strong ! be strong !" and 
when one near him, by trepidation and reluctance to proceed to the charge, evinced a 
dastardly disposition, fearing the example might have a pernicious influence, with one 
blow of his tomahawk he severed his skull. It was, perhaps, a solitary instance in 
which terror predominated. Never did men exhibit a more conclusive evidence of 
bravery in making a charge, and fortitude in withstanding an onset, than did these un- 
disciplined soldiers of the forest in the field at Point Pleasant. Such, too, was the good 
conduct of those who composed the army of Virginia on that occasion, and such the 
noble bravery of many, that high expectations were entertained of their future distinc- 
tion. Nor were those expectations disappointed. In the various scenes through which 
they subsequently passed, the pledge of after eminence then given was fully redeemed • 
and the names of Shelby, Campbell, Matthews, Fleming, Moore, and others, their com> 
patriots in arms on the memorable tenth of October, 1774, have been inscribed in bril- 
liant characters on the roll of fame.t 

Having buried the dead, and made every arrangement which their situation ad- 
mitted, for the comfort of the wounded, intrenchments were thrown up, and the army 
commenced its march to form a junction with the northern division, under Lord Dun- 
more. Proceeding by the way of the Salt Licks, Gen. Lewis pressed forward with as- 
tonishing rapidity, (considering that the march was through a trackless desert ;) but 
before he had gone far, an express arrived from Dunmore with orders to return imme- 
diately to the mouth of the Big Kanawha. Suspecting the integrity of his lordship's 
motives, and urged by the advice of his officers generally. Gen. Lewis refused to obey 

* Such were Redhavvk, a Delaware chief, — Scoppathus, a Mingo, — Elinipsico, a Shawanee, and son 
to Cornstalk, — Chiyawee, a Wyandotte, and Logan, a Cayuga. 

t The following gentlemen, with others of high reputation in private life, were officers in the battle at 
Point Pleasant. Gen. Isaac Shelby, the first governor of Kentucky, and afterwards secretary of war , 
Gen. William Campbell, and Col. John Campbell, heroes of King's Mountain and Long Island ; Gen. 
Evan Shelby, one of the most favored citizens of Tennessee, often honored with the confidence of that 
state ; Col. William Fleming, an active governor of Virginia during the revolutionary war ; Gen. Andrew 
Moore, of Rockbridge, the only man ever elected by Virginia from the country west of the Blue Ridge, 
to the senate of the United States ; Col. John Stuart, of Greenbrier ; Gen. Tate, of Washington county, 
Virginia; Col. William McKee, of Lincoln county, Kentucky ; Col. John Steele, since a governor of the 
Mississippi Territory ; Col. Charles Cameron, of Bath ; Gen. Bazaleel Wells, of Ohio ; and Gen. George 
Matthews, a distinguished officer in the war of the revolution, the hero of Brandy wine, Germantown, 
and of Guilford, a governor of Georgia, and a senator from that state in the Congress of the United 
States. The salvation of the American army at Germantown is ascribed, in Johnstone's life of Gen. 
Greene, to the bravery and good conduct of two regiments, one of which was commanded by Gen., 
then Col. Matthews. 



364 MASON COUNTY. 

these orders, and continued to advance till he was met (at Kilkenny Creek, and in 
sight of an Indian village, which its inhabitants had just fired and deserted) by the 
governor, (accompanied by White Eyes,) who informed him that he was negotiating a 
treaty of peace, which would supersede the necessity of the further movement of the 
southern division, and repeating the order for its retreat. 

The army under Gen. Lewis had endured many privations and suffered many hard- 
ships. They had encountered a savage enemy in great force, and purchased a victory 
with the blood of their friends. When arrived near to the goal of their anxious wishes, 
and with nothing to prevent the accomplishment of the object of the campaign, they 
received those orders with evident chagrin, and did not obey them without murmuring. 
Having, at his own request, been introduced severally to the officers of that division, 
complimenting them for their gallantry and good conduct in the late engagement, and 
assuring them of his high esteem. Lord Dunmore returned to his camp ; and Gen. 
Lewis commenced his retreat. 

This battle (says Col. Stuart, in his historical memoir) was, in fact, the beginning of 
the revolutionary war, that obtained forour country the liberty and independence enjoyed 
by the United States — and a good presage of future success ; for it is well known that 
the Indians were influenced by the British to commence the war to terrify and confound 
the people, before they commenced hostilities themselves the following year at Lexing 
ton. It was thought by British politicians, that to excite an " Indian war would pre- 
vent a combination of the colonies for opposing parliamentary measures to tax the 
Americans." The blood, therefore, spilt upon this memorable battle, will long be re- 
membered by the good people of Virginia and the United States with gratitude. 



The brave and noble Shawanee chief, Cornstalk, was atrociously 
murdered at Point Pleasant, in the summer of 1777. The gover- 
nor of Virginia offered a reward for the apprehension of the mur- 
derers, but without effect. Point Pleasant, which was first settled 
in 1774, did not flourish for many years. It had no church, the 
state of society was bad, and it was the popular superstition that 
the place was cursed for this fiend-like act. The particulars here 
detailed of this event, are from the modest, unostentatious memoir 
of Col. John Stuart : — 

In the year 1777, the Indians, being urged by British agents, became very trouble- 
some to frontier settlements, manifesting much appearance of hostilities, when the 
Cornstalk warrior, with the Redhawk, paid a visit to the garrison at Point Pleasant. 
He made no secret of the disposition of the Indians ; declaring that, on his own part, 
he was opposed to joining in the war on the side of the British, but that all the nation, 
except himself and his own tribe, were determined to engage in it ; and that, of course, 
he and his tribe would have to run with the stream, (as he expressed it.) On this Cap- 
tain Arbuckle thought proper to detain him, the Redhawk, and another fellow, as hos- 
tages, to prevent the nation from joining the British. 

In the course of that summer our government had ordered an army to be raised, of 
volunteers, to serve under the command of General Hand ; who was to have collected a 
number of troops at Fort Pitt, with them to descend the river to Point Pleasant, there 
to meet a reinforcement of volunteers expected to be raised in Augusta and Botetourt 
counties, and then proceed to the Shawanee towns and chastise them so as to compel 
them to a neutrality. Hand did not succeed in the collection of troops at Fort Pitt ; 
and but three or four companies were raised in Augusta and Botetourt, which were under 
the command of Colonel George Skillern, who ordered me to use my endeavors to raise 
all the volunteers I could get in Greenbrier, for that service. The people had begun to 
see the difficulties attendant on a state of war and long campaigns carried through wil- 
dernesses, and but a few were willing to engage in such service. But as the settlements 
which we covered, though less exposed to the depredations of the Indians, had showed 
their willingness to aid in the proposed plan to chastise the Indians, and had raised 
three companies, I was very desirous of doing all I could to promote the business an^ 
aid the service. I used the utmost endeavors, and proposed to the militia officers to 
volunteer ourselves, which would be an encouragement to others, and by such means to 
raise all the men who could be got. The chief of the officers in Greenbrier agreed to 
the proposal, and we cast lots who should command the company. The lot fell on An- 



MASON COUNTV. 365 

drew Hamilton for captain, and William Renick lieutenant. We collected in all, about 
forty, and joined Colonel Skillern's party, on their way to Point Pleasant. 

When we arrived, there was no account of General Hand or his army, and little or 
no provision made to support our troops, other than what we had taken with us down 
the Kanawha. We found, too, that the garrison was unable to spare us any supplies, 
having nearly exhausted, when we got there, what had been provided for themselves. 
But we concluded to wait there as long as we could for the arrival of General Hand, or 
some account from him. During the time of our stay two young men, of the names of 
Hamilton and Gilmore, went over the Kanawha one day to hunt for deer ; on their re- 
turn to camp, some Indians had concealed themselves on the bank among the weeds, to 
view our encampment ; and as Gilmore came along past them, they fired on him and 
killed him on the bank. 

Captain Arbuckle and myself were standing on the opposite bank when the gun fired ; 
and while we were wondering who it could be shooting, contrary to orders, or what they 
were doing over the river, we saw Hamilton run down the bank, who called out that Gil- 
more was killed. Gilmore was one of the company of Captain John Hall, of that part 
of the country now Rockbridge county. The captain was a relation of Gilmore's, 
whose family and friends were chiefly cut oiF by the Indians in the year 1763, when 
Greenbrier was cut off. Hall's men instantly jumped into a canoe and went to the re- 
lief of Hamilton, who was standing in momentary expectation of being put to death. 
They brought the corpse of Gilmore down the bank, covered with blood and scalped, and 
put him into the canoe. As they were passing the river, I observed to Captain Ar- 
buckle that the people would be for killing the hostages, as soon as the canoe would land. 
He supposed that they would not offer to commit so great a violence upon the innocent, 
who were in nowise accessary to the murder of Gilmore. But the canoe had scarcely 
touched the shore until the cry was raised, Let us kill the Indians in the fort ; and every 
man, with his gun in his hand, came up the bank pale with rage. Captain Hall was at 
their head, and leader. Captain Arbuckle and I met them, and endeavored to dissuade 
them from so unjustifiable an action ; but they cocked their guns, threatened us with 
instant death if we did not desist, rushed by us into the fort, and put the Indians to death. 

On the preceding day, the Cornstalk's son, Elinipsico, had come from the nation to 
see his father, and to know if he was well, or alive. When he came to the river oppo- 
site the fort, he hallooed. His father was at that instant in the act of delineating a 
map of the country and the waters between the Shawanee towns and the Mississippi, at 
our request, with chalk upon the floor. He immediately recognised the voice of his son, 
got up, went out, and answered him. The young fellow crossed over, and they embraced 
each other in the most tender and affectionate' manner. The interpreter's wife, who had 
been a prisoner among the Indians, and had recently left them, on hearing the uproar the 
next day, and hearing the men threatening that they would kill the Indians, for whom 
she retained much affection, ran to their cabin and informed them that the people were 
just coming to kill them ; and that, because the Indians who killed Gilmore had come 
with Elinipsico the day before. He utterly denied it ; declared that he knew nothing 
of them, and trembled exceedingly. His father encouraged him not to be afraid, for 
that the Great Man above had sent him there to be killed and die with him. As th6 men 
advanced to the door, the Cornstalk rose up and met them ; they fired upon him, and 
seven or eight bullets went through him. So fell the great Cornstalk warrior, — whose 
name was bestowed upon him by the consent of the nation, as their great strength and 
support. His son was shot dead as he sat upon a stool. The Redhawk made an at- 
tempt to go up the chimney, but was shot down. The other Indian was shamefully 
mangled, and I grieved to see him so long in the agonies of death. 

The Cornstalk, from personal appearance and many brave acts, was undoubtedly a 
hero. Had he been spared to live, I believe he would have been friendly to the Ameri- 
can cause ; for nothing could induce him to make the visit to the garrison at the critical 
time he did, but to communicate to them the temper and disposition of the Indians, and 
their design of taking part with the British. On the day he was killed we held a coun- 
cil, at which he was present. His countenance was dejected ; and he made a speech, 
all of which seemed to indicate an honest and manly disposition. He acknowledged 
that he expected that he and his party would have to run with the stream, for that all 
the Indians on the lakes and northwardly, were joining the British. He said that when 
he returned to the Shawanee towns after the battle at the Point, he called a council of 
the nation to consult what was to be done, and upbraided them for their folly in not suf- 
fering him to make peace on the evening before the battle. " What," said he, " will 
you do now? The Big Knife is coming on us, and we shall all be killed. Now you 



366 MASON COUNTY. ^ 

must fight, or we are undone." But no one made an answer. He said, " then let us kill 
all our women and children, and go and fight till we die." But none would answer. At 
length he rose and struck his tomahawk in the post in the centre of the town-house: 
" I'll go," said he, " and make peace ;" and then the warriors all grunted out, "ough, 
ough, ough," and runners were instantly dispatched to the governor's army to solicit a 
peace, and the interposition of the governor on their behalf. 

When he made his speech in council with us, he seemed to be impressed with an aw- 
ful premonition of his approaching fate ; for he repeatedly said, " When I was a young 
man and went to war, I thought that might be the last time, and I would return no 
more. Now I am here among you ; you may kill me if you please ; I can die but 
once ; and it is all one to me, now or another time." This declaration concluded every 
sentence of his speech. He was killed about one hour after our council. 

There is living upon Thirteen Mile creek, Mr. Jesse Van Bebber, 
an aged pioneer in this county. His life, like his own mountain- 
stream, was rough and turbulent at its commencement ; but as it 
nears its close, calm and peaceful, beautifully reflecting the Chris- 
tian virtues. From conversation with him, we gathered many in- 
teresting anecdotes and incidents, illustrating the history of this 
region, some of which here follow : 

Battle of Point Pleasant. — During the action, those troops from the more eastern 
part of the state, unaccustomed to fighting with the Indians, were all the day engaged 
in making a breastwork at the junction of the Kanawha with the Ohio, so that the army, 
if defeated, should have a secure retreat. Ignorant of how the action would terminate, 
they worked as if for their lives, and before the day was finished had a strong fortifica- 
tion erected. When the alarm was given that the Indians were near. Gen. Lewis delib- 
erately lighted his pipe, and then coolly gave the orders to his brother. Col. Chas. Lewis, 
to advance upon them. The soldiers in Col. Fleming's regiment used a stratagem that 
proved very effectual. They concealed themselves behind trees, and then held out their 
hats, which the Indians mistakingly shot at. The hat being at once dropped, the In- 
dian would run out from his covert to scalp his victim, and thus met a sure death from 
the tomahawk of his adversary. The whites in this action being all backwoodsmen, 
were more successful marksmen than the savages ; a fact in part owing to the want of 
the mechanical skill in the Indians, requisite to keeping their rifles in order. At the 
close of the action, the Indians went off" hallooing, as if coming on to renew the attack. 
This stratagem deceived the whites, and enabled them to retreat in more safety. They 
recrossed the Ohio on rafts, three miles above, near the old Shawanee town. 

Fort at Point Pleasant. — A fort was erected at Point Pleasant just after the battle, at 
the mouth of the Kanawha. It was a rectangular stockade, about eighty yards long, 
with blockhouses at two of its corners. It was finally destroyed, and a smaller one 
erected about fifty rods further up the Ohio, on the site of the store of James Capehart. 
It was composed of a circle of cabins, in which the settlers lived. 

Eulen's Leap. — In the spring of '88 or '89, Ben Eulen, who was then insane, was out 
hunting in the woods below Point Pleasant, when he was discovered and pursued by an 
Indian. He threw away his rifle, an elegant silver-mounted piece, to arrest the atten- 
tion of the Indian, and gain time. The Indian stopped to pick it up. Eulen unexpect- 
edly came to a precipice, and fell head foremost through a buckeye, struck a branch, 
which turned him over, and he came upon his feet. The fall was fifty-three feet perpen- 
dicular. He then leaped another precipice of twelve feet in height, and escaped. 

Anecdotes of the Van Bebhers. — A few years after the close of the revolution, a 
daughter of Capt. John Van Bebber, named Khoda, aged 17, and Joseph Van Bebber, a 
young lad of 13, a brother of our informant, had crossed over in a canoe one morning, 
to the west side of the Ohio, opposite Point Pleasant, on an errand to Rhoda's father, 
then living temporarily in a house that side of the stream, when a party of Indians sud- 
denly made their appearance. Dave, a black man belonging to Capt. Van Bebber, gave 
the alarm, and rushed into the house. The Indians attacked the house, but were driven 
off by Dave and Capt. Van Bebber, with the loss of two or three of their number. Jo- 
seph and Rhoda, in their terror, hastened to the canoe, whither the Indians pursued them, 
killed and scalped the young lady , and took Joseph a prisoner to Detroit. Rhoda's scalp 
the Indians divided into two, and sold them to the Indian traders at Detroit for $30 



MARSHALL COUNTY. 367 

each ; their object in purchasing them was to encourage the savages in their incursions, 
so as to prevent a settlement of the country by the whites, and thus monopol'ze the In- 
dian trade. Joseph afterwards stated that the barrel in which the scalps were put was 
nearly full of the horrid trophies. He remained with the Indians two years, during 
which he learned their language, and acted as interpreter between them and the traders. 
He at length made his escape, and lived with a trader until after Wayne's victory, when 
he returned home. While at Detroit, he became acquainted with the notorious Simon 
Girty, then a British pensioner for services in the revolution. He said Girty was an af. 
fable man, but extremely intemperate. Girty denied to him that he was the instigator 
of the death of Col. Crawford ; but that he went so far to save him that his own life 
was in danger. 

In the fall of '88 or '89, Matthias Van Bebber, aged 18, and Jacob, aged 12 years, 
were out a short distance from Point Pleasant, with a horse, when they were waylaid 
by four Indians. Jacob was leading the horse, and Matthias was a short distance ahead, 
with a rifle across his shoulder, when the Indians fired two guns at Matthias. One of 
the balls struck him over the eyes, and rendered him momentarily blind ; he sprang one 
side, and fell into a gully. The boy Jacob, on hearing the report of the guns, fled, and 
three of the Indians went in pursuit. Matthias, in the mean time, sprang up and took 
to a tree. The remaining Indian did the same. Matthias brought up his gun to an aim, 
the Indian dodged, and the former took the opportunity and escaped into the fort. The 
Indians, after a tight chase of half a mile, caught the lad, who, being very active, 
would have escaped had his moccasins not been too large. The Indians retreated across 
the Ohio with their prisoner. He was a sprightly little fellow, small of his age, and the 
Indians, pleased with him, treated him kindly. On the first night of their encampment, 
they took him on their knees, and sang to him. He turned away his head to conceal 
his tears. On arriving at their town, while running the gauntlet between the children 
of the place, one Indian boy, much larger than himself, threw a bone, which struck him 
on the head. Enraged by the pain, Jacob drew back, and running with all his force, 
butted him over, much to the amusement of the Indian warriors. He was adopted into 
an Indian family, where he was used with kindness. On one occasion his adopted father 
whipped him, though slightly, which affected his Indian mother and sister to tears. Af. 
ter remaining with the Indians about a year, he escaped, and for five days travelled 
through the wilderness to his home. When he had arrived at maturity, he was remark- 
able for his fleetness. None of the Indians who visited the Point could ever equal him 
in that respect. 

Indian incursion. — In May, 1791, a party of eighteen whites were attacked by about 
thirty Indians, about one mile north of the fort at Point Pleasant, near the field now be- 
longing to David Long. The whites were defeated. Michael See and Robert Sinclair 
were killed. Hampton and Thomas Northrop, and a black boy, belonging to See, were 
taken prisoners. This boy was a son of Dick Pointer, who acted so bravely a few years 
before at the attack on Donnally's fort, in Greenbriisr. He became an Indian chief, and 
in the late war with Great Britain took part with the friendly Indians against the 
enemy. 



MARSHALL. 

Marshall was formed in 1835, from Ohio county, and named' 
from Chief- Justice Marshall : it is about 20 miles long and 1& 
wide. The surface is uneven and mountainous ; the mountains 
rise, in many places, 300 and 400 feet above the level of the Ohio, 
and are cultivated frequently on their summits and part way down 
their slopes — the soil there being often nearly as rich as the river 
bottoms. The wild lands of the county are valued from $3 to $S 
per acre; the cultivated mountain, from $15 to S20 ; and the 
river bottom, on the Ohio and the streams generally, from $30 
to $40. Pop., whites 6,854, slaves 46, free colored 37 ; total, 6,937. 



368 



MARSHALL COUNTY. 



Grave Creek is situated upon a plain on the Ohio, 12 miles be- 
low Wheeling, at the mouth of Grave Creek. It is divided into 
two distinct villages. Elizabethtown, the upper village, is the 
county-seat ; the lower village is called Moundsville. Unitedly 
they contain 1 newspaper printing office, 2 mercantile stores, a 
classical academy, an extensive steam flouring-mill, and a popula- 
tion of about 1,200. West Union, 16 miles ne. of the C. H., near 
the Pennsylvania line, contains a few dwellings. 




Grave Creek was first settled in 1770, by Joseph Tomlinson, an 
emigrant from Maryland. In 1772, he discovered the mammoth 
mound at this place ; and about this time several other families 
from Maryland emigrated here. During the succeeding years, 
the inhabitants suffered considerably from the Indians, and erected 
forts for their security. 

About four miles above the village of Grave Creek, on the 
bank of the Ohio, is a monument bearing the following inscrip- 
tion : 

This humble stone is erected to the memory of Capt. Foreman and twenly-oneof his 
men, who were slain by a band of ruthless savages — the allies of a civilized nation of 
Europe— on the 25th of Sept., 1777. 

So sleep the brave who sink to rest, 
By all their country's wishes bleat. 



MABSHALL COUNTY. 369 

The account of the massacre which the monument is designed 
to commemorate, is thus given in a communication to the Ameri- 
can Pioneer : 

About the time of the attack at Wheehng, which occurred in September, (1777,) 
Capt. Foreman and his men were surprised at the head of Grave creek narrows ; the 
account of which event, as given in the Border Warfare, differs somewhat from the way 
Robin Harkness, my uncle, related it, who was with Capt. Foreman at the time. I willj 
therefore, give it as related by him. A smoke was discovered down the river in the di- 
rection of the fort at Grave creek, which induced those at Wheeling to believe that the 
Indians had not yet left the country, and that the fort at Grave creek had been set on 
fire. In order to make discoveries, on the 25th of September Capt. Foreman, with 45 
men, set out for Grave creek. Having arrived there, and seeing the fort Standing, and 
discovering no signs of the Indians, they returned. On arriving at the foot of the Nar- 
rows, a contention arose between Capt. Foreman and a man by the name of Lynn, who 
had been sent with him as a spy, about which road they should take, the river or ridge. 
Lynn urged the probability of the Indians having been on the opposite shore, and had 
more than likely seen them pass down ; and the most likely place for waylaying them 
Was in the narrows, and therefore urged the necessity of going the ridge road. Foreman, 
being indisposed to take the counsel of Lynn, proceeded along the base of the hill. 
During the contention, Robin Harkness sat upon a log, having very sore eyes at the 
time, and took no part in the dispute ; but when Capt. Foreman started, he followed 
him. Lynn, however, with seven or eight other frontiers-men, went the ridge road. 
While passing along a narrow bottom at the head of the narrows, the foremost of Capt. 
Foreman's men picked up some Indian trinkets, which immediately excited a suspicion 
that Indians were near, which caused a halt. Before them some five or six Indians 
stepped into the path, and behind them about the same number ; and at the same mo- 
ment a fire was poured in upon them from a line of Indians under cover of the river 
bank, and not over fifteen steps from the white men. Those that escaped the first fire 
fled up the hill ; but it being steep and difficult to climb, they were exposed for some 
time to the fire of the Indians. Lynn and his comrades, hearing the fire when they 
were below them on the ridge, ran along until opposite. They then proceeded to the 
brink of the hill, where they saw a man ascending near them, who had got nearly to the 
top when he received a shot in his thigh, which broke it. Lynn and his comrades ran 
down and lifted him up, carried him over the hill, and hid him under a cleft of rocks, 
and then proceeded to Wheeling. As Robin Harkness was climbing the hill near the 
top, and pulling himself up by a bush, a ball struck it and knocked the bark off against 
him, which alarmed him, as he supposed it to be the ball ; he however proceeded on and 
escaped unhurt. In this fatal ambuscade, twenty-one of Capt. Foreman's party were 
killed, and several much wounded : among the slain were Capt. Foreman and his two 
sons. The Indian force was never ascertained ; but it was supposed to have been the 
same party that attacked Fort Henry, at Wheeling, which was supposed to have 
been upwards of 300 strong. On the ensuing day, the inhabitants of the neighborhood 
of Wheeling, under the direction of Col. Zane, proceeded to the fatal spot to bury those 
who had fallen, and at the same time to get the man who was wounded and hid under 
the rocks, who was still alive and finally recovered. 

Within a quarter of a mile from the Ohio, on the river flats at 
Grave Creek, in full view of the passing steamers, is the mam- 
moth mound. On the summit is an observatory, erected by Mr. 
A. B. Tomlinson in 1 837, From his communication in the Ameri- 
can Pioneer, we derive the following facts : 

The Mammoth Mound is 69 feet high, and about 900 feet in circumference at its base. 
It is a frustum of a cone, and has a flat top of about 50 feet in. diameter. This flat, 
until lately, was slightly depressed — occasioned, it is supposed, by the falling in of two 
vaults below. A few years since a white oak, of about 70 feet in height, stood on the 
summit of the mound, which appeared to die of age. On carefully cutting the trunk 
transversely, the number of concentric circles showed that it was about 500 years old. 

In 1838, Mr. Tomlmson commenced at the level of the surrounding ground, and ran 
in an excavation horizontally 111 feet, when he came to a vault that had been excavated 
in the earth before the mound was commenced. This vault was 12 feet long, 8 wide, 
and 7 in height. It was dry as any tight rooni. Along each side and the two ends, 

47 



370 



MARSHALL COUNTY. 



stood upright timbers, which had supported transverse timbers forming the ceiling. Over 
the timbers had been placed unhewn stone ; but the decay of the timbers* occasioned 
the fall of the stones and the superincumbent earth, so as to nearly fill the vault. In 
this vault were found two skeletons, one of which was devoid of ornament — the other 
was surrounded by 650 ivory beads, resembling button-moles, and an ivory ornament of 
about six inches in length, which is one inch and five eighths wide in the centre, half an 
inch wide at the ends, and on one side flat and on the other oval-shaped. A singular 
white exudation of animal matter overhangs the roof of this vault. 




The Mammoth Mound at Orave Creek. 

Another excavation was commenced at the top of the mound downwards. Midway 
between the top and bottom, and over the vault above described, a second and similar 
vault was discovered, and, like that, caved in by the falling of the ceiling, timbers, 
stones, &c. In the upper vault was found the singular hieroglyphical stone hereafter 
described, 1700 iv6ry beads, 500 sea-shells of the involute species, that were worn as 
beads, and five copper bracelets about the wrists of the skeleton. The shells and beads 
were about the neck and breast of the skeleton, and there were also about 150 pieces of 
isinglass strewed over the body. 

The mound is composed of the same kind of earth as that around it, being a fine 
loamy sand, but differs very much in color from that of the natural ground. After pene- 
trating about eight feet with the first or horizontal excavation, blue spots began to appear 
in the earth of which the mound is composed. On close examination, these spots were 
found to contain ashes and bits of burnt bones. These spots increased as they approached 
the centre : at the distance of 120 feet within, the spots were so numerous and con- 
densed as to give the earth a clouded appearance, and excited the admiration of all who 
saw it. Every part of the mound presents the same appearance, except near the sur- 
face. The blue spots were probably occasioned by depositing the remains of bodies 
consumed by fire. 

In addition to the relics in the mammoth mojind, there has been a great number and 
variety of relics found in the neighborhood : many of them were discovered with skele- 
tons which were nearly decayed. Mr. Tomlinson has some beads, found about two 

* At the top and bottom, where the timbers had been placed, were particles of charcoal — an evidence 
that fire, instead of iron, had been used in severing the wood. This goes to show that the constructors 
of the mound were not acquainted with the use of iron ; and the fact that none of that metal was found 
in the vault, strongly corroborates the opinion. Some of the stones were water-worn, probably from the 
river ; others were identical with a whet-stbne quarry on the Ohio side of the river, two miles north. — 
H. U. 



MARSHALL COUNTY. 



371 



miles from this great mound, that are evidently a kind of porcelain, and very similar, if 
not identical in substance with artificial teeth set by dentists. He has also an image of 
stone, found with other relics about eight miles distant. It is in human shape, sitting in 
a cramped position, the face and eyes projecting upwards. The nose is what is called 
Roman. On the crown of the head is a knot, in which the hair is concentrated and 
tied. The head and features particularly is a display of great workmanship and inge- 
nuity. It is eleven inches in height, but if it were straight would be double that height. 
It is generally believed to have been an idol. 

Mr, Henry R. Colcraft, [Schoolcraft,] whose researches upon the 
Indian antiquities of the west have placed him at the head of the 
list of scientific inquirers upon this subject, visited Grave Creek in 
August, 1843, and devoted several days to the examination of the 
antique works of art at that place. The result of his investigations 
is partially given in a communication to the New York Commercial 
Advertiser, copied below. We were subsequently at Grave Creek, 
and obtained an impression in wax of the hieroglyphical stone to 
which he alludes. An accurate engraving from this impression 
we insert in its proper place in his article : 

I have devoted several days to the examination of the antiquities of this place and its 
vicinity, and find them to be of even more interest than was anticipated. The most 
prominent object of curiosity is the great tumulus, of which notices have appeared in 
western papers ; but this heavy structure of earth is not isolated. It is but one of a 
series of mounds and other evidences of ancient occupation at this point, of more than 
ordinary interest. I have visited and examined seven mounds situated within a short 
distance of each other. They occupy the summit level of a rich alluvial plain, stretch- 
ing on tjie left or Virginia bank of the Ohio, between the junctions of Big and Little 
Grave creeks with that stream. They appear to have connected by low earthen intrench- 
ments, of which plain traces are still visible on some parts of the commons. They 
included a well, stoned up in the usual manner, which is now filled with rubbish. 

The summit of this plain is probably 75 feet above the present summit-level of the 
Ohio. It constitutes the second bench or rise of land above the water. It is on this 
summit, and one of the most elevated parts of it, that the great tumulus stands. It is 
in the shape of a broad cone, cut off at the apex, where it is some fifty feet across. 
This area is quite level, and commands a view of the entire plain, and of the river above 
and below, and the west shores of the Ohio in front. Any public transaction on this 
area would be visible to multitudes around it, and it has, in this respect, all the advan- 
tages of the Mexican and Yucatanese teocalli. The circumference of the base has been 
stated at a httle under 900 feet ; the height is 69 feet. 

The most interesting object of antiquarian inquiry is a small flat stone, inscribed with 
antique alphabetic characters, which was disclosed on the opening of the mound. These 

characters are in the ancient rock alphabet 
of 16 right and acute-angled single strokes, 
used by the Pclasgi and other early Mediter- 
ranean nations, and which is the parent of 
the modern Runic as well as the Bardic. 
It is now some four or five years since the 
completion of the excavations, so far as they 
: have been made, and the discovery of this 
relic. Several copies of it soon got abroad 
which differed from each other, and, it was 
supposed, from the original. This conjec- 
ture is true. Neither the print published in 
the Cincinnati Gazette in 1839, nor that in 
the American Pioneer in 1843, is correct. I 
have terminated this uncertainty by taking 
copies by a scientific process, which does not leave the lines and figures to the uncer- 
tainty of man's pencil. 

The existence of this ancient art here could hardly be admitted, otherwise than as an 
insulated fact, without some corroborative evidence in habits and customs, which it 
would be reasonable to look for in the existing ruins of ancient occupancy. It is thought 




372 MARION COUNTY. 

some such testimony has been found. I rode out yesterday three miles, back to the 
range of high hills which encompass this sub-valley, to see a rude tower of stone stand- 
ing on an elevated point, called Parr's Point, which commands a view of the whole 
plain, and which appears to have been constructed as a watch-tower, or lookout, from 
which to descry an approaching enemy. It is much dilapidated. About six or seven 
feet of the work is still entire. It is circular, and composed of rough stones, laid with- 
out mortar, or the mark of a hammer. A heavy mass of fallen walls lies around, cover- 
ing an area of some forty feet in diameter. Two similar points of observation, occupied 
by dilapidated towers, are represented to exist, one at the prominent summit of the Ohio 
and Grave creek hills, and another on the promontory on the opposite side of the Ohio, 
in Belmont county, Ohio. 

It is well known to all acquainted with the warhke habits of our Indians, that they 
never evinced the foresight to post a regular sentry, and these rude towers may be regarded 
as of contemporaneous age with the interment of the inscription. 

Several polished tubes of stone have been found in one of the lesser mounds, the use 
of which is not very apparent. One of these now on my table is twelve inches long, 
one and a fourth wide at one end, and one and a half at the other. It is made of a 
fine, compact, lead-blue steatite, mottled, and has been constructed by boring, in the 
manner of a gun-barrel. This boring is continued to within about three-eighths of an 
inch of the larger end, through which but a small aperture is left. If this small aperture 
be looked through, objects at a distance are more clearly seen. Whether it had this 
telescope or others, the degree of art evinced in its construction is far from rude. By 
inserting a wooden rod and valve, this tube would be converted into a powerful syphon 
or syringe. 

I have not space to notice one or two additional traits which serve to awaken new 
interest at this ancient point of aboriginal and apparently mixed settlement. 



MARION. 

Marion was formed in 1842, from Harrison and Monongalia, 
and named from General Francis Marion. It is about 40 miles 
long, with a mean width of 13 miles. It is watered by the west 
fork of the Monongahela and its branches. The county is well 
timbered, and adapted to grazing ; its surface is hilly, and much 
of the soil fertile. Fairmont, formerly called Middletown, is the 
county-seat ; it is 278 miles nw. of Richmond, 40 miles e. of the 
Ohio, 22 n. of Clarksburg, and 18 s. of Morgantown. It was estab- 
lished by law in 1820, and is now a flourishing village, pleasantly 
situated on the west bank of the Monongahela, near the southern 
line of the county. It contains 5 mercantile stores, 1 Methodist 
and 1 Presbyterian church, several flouring and other mills in it 
and vicinity, and about 70 dwellings. The face of the surrounding 
country is somewhat hilly ; the soil is generally of a rich loamy 
clay, producing all the staples common to the middle states. The 
forests abound with the finest timber, and the earth is stored with 
iron ore, and the best stone-coal, the latter of which is largely ex- 
ported. Palatine lies opposite Fairmont, on the Monongahela. 
It is a new and flourishing village, containing 2 stores, some mills, 
and about 25 dwellings. Holtsville, Newport, and Milford, are 
small but flourishing places on the Monongahela, below Fairmont. 
As this county comes within the limits of the tract described in 
Doddridge's Notes, we make an extract depicting the customs of 
those primitive times ; 



MAEION COUNTY. 373 

The settlements on this side of the mountains commenced along the Monongahela, 
and between that river and the Laurel ridge, in the year 1772. In the succeeding year 
they reached the Ohio River. The greater number of the first settlers came from the 
upper parts of the then colonies of Maryland and Virginia. Braddock's trail, as it was 
called, was the route by which the greater number of them crossed the mountains. A 
less number of them came by the way of Bedford and Fort Ligonier, the military road 
from Pennsylvania to Pittsburg. They eifected their removals on horses furnished with 
pack-saddles. This was the more easily done, as but few of these early adventurers 
into the wilderness were encumbered witli much baggage. 

Land was the object which invited the greater number of these people to cross the 
mountain, for, as the saying then was, " It was to be had here for taking up ;" that is, 
building a cabin and raising a crop of grain, however small, of any kind, entitled the 
occupant to four hundred acres of land, and a pre-emption right to one thousand acres 
more adjoining, to be secured by a land-office warrant. This right was to take effect 
if there happened to be so much vacant land, or any part thereof, adjoining the tract 
secured by the settlement right. 

At an early period the government of Virginia appointed three commissioners to give 
certificates of settlement rights. These certificates, together with the surveyor's plat, 
were sent to the land-office of the state, where they lay six months, to await any caveat 
which might be offered. If none was offered, the patent then issued. 

There was, at an early period of our settlements, an inferior kind of land title de- 
nominated a " tomahawk right," which was made by deadening a few trees near the 
head of a spring, and marking the bark of some one or more of them with the initials 
of the name of the person who made the improvement. I remember having seen a 
number of those " tomahawk rights" when a boy. For a long time many of them bore 
the names of those who made them. I have no knowledge of the efficacy of the toma- 
hawk improvement, or whether it conferred any right whatever, vmless followed by an 
actual settlement. These rights, however, were often bought and sold. Those who 
wished to make settlements on their favorite tracts of land, bought up the tomahawk 
improvements, rather than enter into quarrels with those who had made them. Other 
improvers of the land, with a view to actual settlement, and who happened to be stout 
veteran fellows, took a very different course from that of purchasing the " tomahawk 
rights." When annoyed by the claimants under those rights, they deliberately cut a 
few good hickories, and gave them what was called in those days a " laced jacket," 
that is, a sound whipping. 

Some of the early settlers took the precaution to come over the mountains in the 
spring, leaving their families behind to raise a crop of corn, and then return and bring 
them out in the fall. This I should think was the better way. Others, especially those 
whose families were small, brought them with them in the spring. My father took the 
latter course. His family was but small, and he brought them all with him. The 
Indian meal which he brought over the mountain was expended six weeks too soon, so 
that for that length of time we had to live without bread. The lean venison and the 
breast of wild turkeys we were taught to call bread. The flesh of the bear was denomi- 
nated meat. This artifice did not succeed very well. After living in this way for some 
time we became sickly, the stomach seemed to be always empty and tormented with a 
sense of hunger. I remember how narrowly the children watched the growth of the 
potato tops, pumpkin and squash vines, hoping from day to day to get something to 
answer in the place of bread. How delicious was the taste of the young potatoes when 
we got them! What a jubilee, when we were permitted to pull the young corn for 
roasting ears. Still more so, when it had acquired sufficient hardness to be made into 
ionny-cakes by the aid of a tin grater. We then became healthy, vigorous, and con- 
tented with our situation, poor as it was. 

My father, with a small number of his neighbors, made their settlements in the spring 
of 1773. Though they were in a poor and destitute situation, they nevertheless lived 
in peace ; but their tranquillity was not of long continuance. Those most atrocious 
murders of the peaceable, inoffensive Indians at Captina and Yellow Creek, brought on 
the war of Lord Dunmore in the spring of the year 1774. Our little settlement then 
broke up. The women and children were removed to Morris's Fort, in Sandy Creek 
glade, some distance to the east of Uniontown. The fort consisted of an assemblage of 
small hovels, situated on the margin of a large and noxious marsh, the effluvia of which 
gave the most of the women and children the fever and ague. The men were com- 
pelled by necessity to return home, and risk the tomahawk and scalping-knife of the 
Indians, in raising corn to keep their famihes from starvation the succeeding winter. 



374 MARION COUNTY. 

Those sufferings, dangers, and losses, were the tribute we had to pay to that thirst for 
blood which actuated those veteran murderers who brought the war upon us ! The 
memory of the sufferers in this war, as well as that of their descendants, still looks back 
upon them with regret and abhorrence, and the page of history will consign their names 
to posterity with the full weight of infamy they deserve. 

My father, like many others, believed that, having secured his legal allotment, the 
rest of the country belonged of right to those who chose to settle in it. There was a 
piece of vacant land adjoining his tract, amounting to about 200 acres. To this tract 
of land he had the pre-emption right, and accordingly secured it by warrant ; but his 
conscience would not permit him to retain it in his family ; he therefore gave it to an 
apprentice lad whom he had raised in his house. This lad sold it to an uncle of mine 
for a cow and a calf, and a wool hat. 

Owing to the equal distribution of real property directed by our land laws, and the 
sterling integrity of our forefathers in their observance of them, we have no districts of 
" sold land," as it is called, that is, large tracts of land in the hands of individuals, or 
companies, who neither sell nor improve them, as is the case in Lower Canada, and the 
northwestern part of Pennsylvania. These unsettled tracts make huge blanks in the 
population of the country where they exist. 

The division-lines between those whose lands adjoined, were generally made in an 
amicable manner, before any survey of them was made, by the parties concerned. In 
doing this they were guided mainly by the tops of ridges and water-courses, but par- 
ticularly the former. Hence the greater number of farms in the western parts of Penn- 
sylvania and Virginia bear a striking resemblance to an amphitheatre. The buildings 
occupy a low situation, and the tops of the surrounding hills are the boundaries of the 
tract to which the family mansion belongs. 

Our forefathers were fond of farms of this description, because, as they said, they are 
attended with this convenience, " that every thing comes to the house down hill." 

Most of the early settlers considered their land as of little value, from an apprehension 
that after a few years' cultivation it would lose its fertility, at least for a long time. I 
have often heard them say that such a field would bear so many crops, and another so 
many, more or less than that. The ground of this belief concerning the short-lived fer- 
tility of the land in this country, was the poverty of a great proportion of the land in 
the lower parts of Maryland and Virginia, which, after producing a few crops, became 
unfit for use, and was thrown out into commons. 

My reader will naturally ask where were their mills for grinding grain ? Where their 
tanneries for making leather? Where their smith-shops for making and repairing their 
farming utensils ? Who were their carpenters, tailors, cabinet workmen, shoemakers, 
and weavers ? The answer is, those manufacturers did not exist, nor had they any 
tradesmen who were professedly such. Every family were under the necessity of doing 
every thing for themselves as well as they could. The hommony-block and hand-mills 
were in use in most of our houses. The first was made of a large block of wood about 
three feet long, with an excavation burned in one end, wide at the top and narrow at 
the bottom, so that the action of the pestle on the bottom threw the corn up to the 
sides towards the top of it, from whence it continually fell down into the centre. In 
consequence of this movement, the whole mass of the grain was pretty equally subjected 
to the strokes of the pestle. In the fall of the year, while the Indian corn was soft, the 
block and pestle did very well for making meal for jonny-cake and mush, but were 
rather slow when the corn became hard. 

The sweep was sometimes used to lessen the toil of pounding grain into meal. This 
was a pole of some springy elastic wood, thirty feet long or more ; the butt end was placed 
under the side of a house, or a large stump. This pole was supported by two forks, 
placed about one-third of its length from the butt end, so as to elevate the small end 
about fifteen feet from the ground ; to this was attached, by a large mortise, a piece of 
a sapling, about five or six inches in diameter, and eight or ten feet long. The lower 
end of this was shaped so as to answer for a pestle. A pin of wood was put through it 
at a proper height, so that two persons could work at the sweep at once. This simple 
machine very much lessened the labor, and expedited the work. I remember that, 
when a boy, I put up an excellent sweep at my father's. It was made of a sugar-tree 
sapling. It was kept going almost constantly, from morning till night, by our neigh- 
bors for several weeks. In the Greenbrier country, where they had a number of salt- 
petre caves, the first settlers made plenty of excellent gunpowder by the means of those 
sweeps and mortars. 

A machine still more simple than the mortar and pestle, was used for making meal. 



MARION COUNTY. 375 

while the corn was too soft to be beaten. It was called a grater. This was a half- 
circular piece of tin, perforated with a punch from the concave side, and nailed by its 
edges to a block of wood. The ears of corn were rubbed on the rough edges of the 
holes, while the meal fell through them on the board or block to which the grater was 
nailed, which, being in a slanting direction, discharged the meal into a cloth or bowl 
placed for its reception. This, to be sure, was a slow way of making meal, but neces- 
sity has no law. 

The hand-mill was better than the mortar and grater. It was made of two circular 
stones, the lowest of which was called the bed-stone, the upper one the runner. These 
were placed in a hoop, with a spout for discharging the meal. A staff was let into a 
hole in the upper surface of the runner, near the outer edge, and its upper end through a 
hole in a board fastened to a joist above, so that two persons could be employed in 
turning the mill at the same time. The grain was put into the opening in the runner 
by hand. These mills are still in use in Palestine, the ancient country of the Jews. 
To a mill of this sort our Saviour alluded, when, with reference to the destruction of 
Jerusalem, he said : " Two women shall be grinding at a mill, the one shall be taken 
and the other left." This mill is much preferable to that used at present in Upper 
Egypt for making the dhoura bread. It is a smooth stone, placed on an inclined plane, 
upon which the grain is spread, which is made into meal by rubbing another stone up 
and down upon it. 

Our first water-mills were of that description denominated tub-mills. It consists of 
a perpendicular shaft, to the lower end of which a horizontal wheel of about four or five 
feet in diameter is attached ; the upper end passes through the bed-stone, and carries 
the runner after the manner of a trundlehead. These mills were built with very little 
expense, and many of them answered the purpose very well. Instead of bolting cloths, 
sifters were in general use. They were made of deerskins, in the state of parchment^ 
stretched over a hoop, and perforated with a hot wire. 

Our clothing was all of domestic manufacture. We had no other resource for cloth- 
ing, and this indeed was a poor one. The crops of flax often failed, and the sheep were- 
destroyed by the wolves. Linsey, which is made of flax and wool — the former the 
chain, and the latter the filling — was the warmest and most substantial cloth we could 
make. Almost every house contained a loom, and almost every woman was a weaver. 
Every family tanned their own leather. The tan-vat was a large trough sunk to the 
upper edge in the ground. A quantity of bark was easily obtained every spring in 
clearing and fencing land. This, after drying, was brought in, and in wet days was 
shaved and pounded on a block of wood, with an axe or mallet. Ashes were used in 
place of lime, for taking off the hair. Bears' oil, hogs' lard, and tallow, answered the 
place of fish oil. The leather, to be sure, was coarse ; but it was substantially good. 
The operation of currying was performed by a drawing-knife with its edge turned, after 
the manner of a currying-knife. The blacking for the leather was made of soot and 
hogs' lard. 

Almost every family contained its own tailors and shoemakers. Those who could not 
make shoes, could make shoepacks. These, like moccasins, were made of a single piece 
of leather, with the exception of a tongue-piece on the top of the foot. This was about 
two inches broad, and circular at the lower end. To this the main piece of leather was 
sewed with a gathering stitch. The seam behind was like that of a moccasin. To the 
shoepack, a sole was sometimes added. The women did the tailor-work. They could 
all cut out and make hunting-shirts, leggins, and drawers. 

The state of society which existed in our country at an early period of its settlement, 
is well calculated to call into action every native mechanical genius. This happened in 
this country. There was in almost every neighborhood some one, whose natural in- 
genuity enabled him to do many things for himself and his neighbors, far above what 
could have been reasonably expected. With the few tools which they brought with them 
into the country, they certainly performed wonders. Their ploughs, harrows with woodert 
teeth, and sleds, were in many instances well made. Their cooper-ware, which com- 
prehended every thing for holding milk and water, was generally pretty well executed- 
The cedar-ware, by having alternately a white and red stave, was then thought beauti- 
ful ; many of their puncheon floors were very neat, their joints close, and the top even 
and smooth. Their looms, although heavy, did very well. Those who could not exer- 
cise these mechanic arts, were under the necessity of giving labor or barter to thei? 
neighbors in exchange for the use of them, so far as their necessities required. 



376 MATHEWS COUNTY. 



MATHEWS. 



Mathews was created in 1790, from Gloucester, and named in 
honor of a meritorious officer of the Virginia troops in the revolu- 
tion, and subsequently governor of Georgia. This county is a pen- 
insula, extending into Chesapeake Bay, united to the main by a nar- 
row neck of land scarcely a mile wide, and its boundaries are 
almost entirely of water. It is 20 miles long, and in its widest 
section not nine miles. The principal streams are the Piankatank, 
East, and North Rivers. About 60,000 acres of the land are of a 
medium fertility. Marl exists in some parts. Formerly ship-build- 
ing was carried on to such an extent, that agriculture was almost 
entirely neglected. The county is supplied with meal by wind 
and tide mills. Owing to the land being almost a dead level, there 
are no streams of fresh water running through the county ; hence 
in long dry seasons every cattle hole, at which the stock water, 
dry up, and they suffer much from thirst. Pop., in 1840, whites 
3,969, slaves 3,309, free colored 174; total, 7,442. 

Mathews C. H., or Westville, is near the centre of the county, 
on a small stream putting up from East River, 100 miles e. of Rich- 
mond. It is a port of entry, and contains about 30 dwellings. 

Gwyn's Island is on the east side of the county, in Chesapeake 
Ba)^ at the mouth of Piankatank River ; it contains about 2000 
acres, and a population of about 200. There is a tradition that 
Pocahontas, in attempting to swim across the Piankatank, was near 
drowning, but was rescued by an individual, to whom, as a token 
of her gratitude, she gave this island. 

Several months after the burning of Norfolk, Lord Dunmore left 
Hampton Roads with his whole fleet, landed about the 1st of June 
at Gwyn's Island, where he fortified himself. His force, consisting 
of about 500 men, including negroes, whom he had induced by 
false promises to leave their masters, was attacked by the Virgin- 
ians under Gen. Lewis, and compelled to abandon the place. 
Shortly after, Dunmore left the coast of Virginia forever. 

The annexed account of the attack upon Dunmore, and his ex- 
pulsion from Gwyn's Island, is from the Virginia Gazette of July 
29th, 1776:— 

We got to the island on Monday, the 8th, and next morning, at 8 o'clock, began a 
furious attack upon the enemy's shipping, camp, and fortifications, from two batteries, 
one of five, six, and nine-pounders ; the other inounting two eighteen-pounders. What 
forces the enemy had, were encamped on a point of the island nearly opposite to our 
five-gun battery, covered by a battery of four embrasures, and a breastwork of con- 
siderable extent. Besides this, they had two other batteries, and a stockade fort higher 
up the haven, where troops were stationed to prevent our landing. In the haven were 
three tenders ; one a sloop, (the Lady Charlotte,) mounting six carriage-guns ; a schooner 
of two carriages, six swivels and cohorn ; and a pilot-boat, badly armed, who had orders 
from Captain Hammond, of the Roebuck, to prevent our boats passing over to the 
island, and to annoy the rebels by every means in their power. Gen. Lewis announced 
his orders for attacking the enemy, by putting a match to the first gun, an eighteen- 
pounder, himself; and the Dunmore being then nearest to us, at the distance of about 
500 yards, it passed through her hull, and did considerable damage. Our five-gun bat- 



MATHEWS COUNTY. 377 

tery likewise began playing on the fleet, the enemy's camp, atid works ; and the fire 
soon became so hot that the Dunmore was obliged to cut her cables and haul off, after 
receiving ten shot, some of which raked her fore and aft. The Otter lay next to her, 
and it was expected would have taken her birth, but the first shot we gave her, took 
place supposed between wind and water, and she immediately slipped her cable likewise, 
and hauled out on a careen, without firing a gun. By this time all the fleet any way 
near the shore, began to slip their cables in the utmost confusion ; and had the wind set 
in with a flood-tide, we must have taken great numbers of them. Our eighteen-pounders 
did great execution from the upper battery, which raked the whole fleet ; and Captain 
Denny, who commanded the other battery, soon silenced the enemy at the point, knock- 
ing down several tents, which put their camp into a great confusion. At half after 9 
the firing ceased, which Was renewed again at 12, with double vigor, from both bat- 
teries ; and nothing prevented our pushing to the island, during the cannonade, but the 
want of vessels. 

The general being determined to cross the next day, gave orders for all the small 
crafts to be collected together from the neighboring creeks that night, and two brass 
field-pieces, six-pounders, to be carried to a place called Lower Wind Mill Point, to at- 
tack the tender that lay there, and facilitate our crossing. Accordingly, in the morning 
Captain Harrison, who had the direction of those field-pieces, began playing upon the 
tenders, which he galled so much, that the schooner ran up a small Creek which in- 
dented the island, where the crew abandoned her, and the sloop got aground in reach of 
our cannon ; upon which the general ordered Captain Smith, of the 7th regiment, with 
his company, to man the canoes and board her, which was done with alacrity. How- 
ever, before our men came up with her, the Crew got into their boat, and pushed for the 
island. But Captain Smith, very prudently passing the tender, pursued them so close, 
that before they could reach the shore, he exchanged a few shot with them, and took 
part of them prisoners. The enemy's look-outs, perceiving our men close upon the lower 
part of the island, cried out, "The shirt-men are coming 1" and scampered off. The 
pilot-boat made no resistance. 

General Lewis then ordered two hundred men, under Colonel M'Clanahan, to land 
on the island, which was performed as expeditiously as our small vessels would admit of. 
On our arrival, we found the enemy had evacuated the place with the greatest precipita- 
tion, and were struck with horror at the number of dead bodies, in a state of putrefac- 
tion, strewed all the way from their battery to Cherry Point, about two miles in length, 
with a shovel full of earth upon them ; others gasping for life ; and some had crawled 
to the water edge, who could only make known their distress by beckoning' to us. By 
the small-pox, and other malignant disorders which have raged on board the fleet for 
many months past, it is clear they have lost, since their arrival at Gwyn's Island, near 
five hundred souls. I myself counted one hundred and thirty graves, or rather holes 
loosely covered over with earth, close together, many of them large enough to hold a 
corporal's guard. One in the middle was neatly done up with turf, and is supposed to 
contain the remains of the late Lord Gosport. Many were burnt alive in brush huts, 
which, in their confusion, had got on fire. In short, such a scene of misery, distress, 
and cruelty, my eyes never beheld ; for which the authors, one may reasonably conclude, 
never can make atonement in this world. The enemy left behind them, in their bat- 
tery, a double fortified nine-pounder, a great part of their baggage, with several tents 
and marquees, beside the three tenders, with their cannon, small arms, &c. Also the 
anchors and cables of the Dunmore, Otter, and many others, to the amount, it is sup- 
posed, of twelve hundred pounds. On their leaving the island, they burnt some valua- 
ble vessels which had got aground. Mr. John Grymes' effects on the island have fallen 
into our hands, consisting in thirty-five negroes, horses, cattle, and fumitare. 

Major Byrd, on the approach of our canoes to the island, was huddled into a ctrnt in 
a very sick and low condition, it is said, and carried down to Cherry Point, where he 
embarked. The second shot the Dunmore received, cut her boatswain in two, and 
wounded two or three others ; and she had scarcely recovered from the shock, when a 
nine-pounder from the lower battery entered her quarter, and beat in a large timber, 
from the splinters of which Lord Dunmore got wounded in the legs, and had all his 
valuable china smashed about his ears. It is said his lordship was exceedingly alarmed, 
and roared out, " Good God, that ever I should come to this !" 

We had our information from one of his people that came ashore after the engage- 
ment, and was taken by our scouts. He likewise said, that many were killed in the 
fleet, which had sustained some thousand pounds worth of damage. The Fowey and 
Roebuck were the lowermost ships, besides which there were one himdred and odd sail 

48 



378 MERCER COUNTY. 

of large vessels, which took their departure on Thursday afternoon, and are supposed to 
have gone into Potomac. 

In this affair, we lost not a man but poor Captain Arundel, who was killed by the 
bursting of a mortar of his own invention, although the general and all the officers were 
against his firing it. His zeal for the service cost him his life. 



MECKLENBURG. 

Mecklenburg was created in 1764, from Lunenburg. Its length 
is 36, mean width 18 miles. The Meherrin runs on its northern 
line, and the Roanoke through its southern portion. On the Roan- 
oke is much extremely fertile land. The soil of the county is 
generally fertile, and although the ridges are thin and poor, yet it 
is a free soil, and annually produces about four millions of pounds 
of tobacco. Pop., whites 7,754, slaves 11,915, free colored 1,055; 
total, 20,724. 

Boyd ton, the county-seat, is 109 miles sw. of Richmond, and 6 
from the Roanoke River, on an elevated and healthy site. It con- 
tains 4 mercantile stores, 17 mechanic shops, 1 tannery, 1 jeweller, 
1 apothecary, 1 Methodist, 1 Episcopal, and 1 Presbyterian church, 
and a population of about 400. About a mile from Boydton is 
Randolph Macon College, an institution in high repute, estab- 
lished in 1832, and under the superintendence and patronage of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. It has 4 professors and about a 
hundred students. L. C. Garland, A. M., is the president. A pre- 
paratory school is attached to the college, under the control and 
management of the faculty. 

Clarksville is 12 miles sw. of Boydton, at the junction of Dan 
and Staunton Rivers. It has increased more in the last ten years 
than any other village in Virginia. In 1835 it had but 14 dwell- 
ings : it now contains 10 mercantile stores, 20 mechanic shops, 2 
tobacco inspections and warehouses, 1 tannery, 1 Baptist, 1 Meth- 
odist, and 1 Presbyterian church, and about 1000 inhabitants. 
Over 2000 hogsheads of tobacco are annually inspected here, and 
a large number of batteaux are constantly plying on the river, 
loaded with the products of the country. 



MERCER. 

Mercer was formed in 1837, from Giles and Tazewell, and named 
from Gen. Hugh Mercer, who fell at Princeton. It is 40 miles long, 
with a mean breadth of about 15 miles. It is watered by New 
River and its branches ; the main stream being its ne. boundary. 
It is a wild and thinly settled tract, and much of the surface is 
mountainous and hilly. It is principally a stock-raising county ; 
the woodlands affording a fine range for cattle. Pop., whites 2,127, 
slaves 98, free colored 8 ; total, 2,233. 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 379 

At the formation of the county there was not a village in it : the 
erection of the county buildings has formed the nucleus of a small 
village called Princeton, situated 28 miles from Giles C. H., 35 
from Tazewell C. H., and 42 from Monroe C. H., and containing 1 
Baptist and 1 Methodist church, 1 store, and about a dozen dwell- 
ings. 



MIDDLESEX. 

Middlesex was formed in 1675, from Lancaster. This county is 
a long narrow strip of land Ijdng between its two boundary rivers ; 
its greatest length is 39 miles, its mean breadth is 5 miles. The 
lands immediately on the Rappahannock, Piankatank, and Dragon, 
are fertile. Many branches of the Rappahannock make up into 
the county, affording convenience to the farmer in sending his pro- 
duce to Baltimore and Norfolk, the usual markets for the produce 
of this section. Pop. in 1840, whites 2,041, slaves 2,209, free color- 
ed 142 ; total, 4,392. 

Urbanna, the county-seat, is a sea-port, located about 18 miles 
above the mouth of the Rappahannock, near the entrance of Ur- 
banna creek into that stream, and 84 miles northeasterly from 
Richmond. It was established a town by law the same year with 
Norfolk, 1705. It is a small village, containing several stores and 
about a dozen dwellings. This village was the residence of the 
celebrated botanist and physician, John Mitchell, who emigrated 
to this country from England in the early part of the last cen- 
tury, and distinguished himself by his philosophical and medical 
essays, and historical writings. 

The prevailing religious denomination of this county is the Baptist : indeed, for the last 
sixty years, Virginia has been distinguished for containing a larger number of Baptists 
than any other state in the Union. It is not known that any of the original settlers of 
Virginia were of this denomination. The first church gathered in the colony was at 
Burley, in the county of the Isle of Wight, about the year 1714, more than a century 
after the landing at Jamestown, which church is supposed to have continued 40 or 50 
years, when many of its members removed to North CaroUna, and soon increased great- 
ly. They were all General Baptists ; but in a few years after their removal they began 
to embrace the Calvinistic sentiments. The next appearance of the Baptists in this 
state was in the counties of Berkeley, Rockingham, and Loudon, from the year 1743 to 
1756. This period dates the origin of the Regular Baptists in Virginia; but they did 
not flourish to any considerable extent until 1760. " Their first preachers came from 
the north, and some few arose in the south : all met with opposition from those in power. 
' The ministers (says Leland) were imprisoned, and the disciples buffeted.' This is but 
too true. No dissenters in Virginia experienced for a time harsher treatment than did 
the Baptists. They were beaten and imprisoned ; and cruelty taxed its ingenuity to 
devise new modes of punishment and annoyance." 

Outrageous mobs disturbed their congregations and preachers. A snake and a hor- 
net's nest were thrown into their meetings, and even in one case fire-arms were brought 
to disperse them. " When the Baptists first appeared in Virginia and North Carolina 
they were received by men in power as beneath their notice ; and in some places perse- 
cution in a legal shape was never resorted to. But in many others, alarmed by their 
rapid increase, the men in power strained every penal law in the Virginia code to obtain 
ways and means to put down these disturbers of the public peace, as they were called. It 



380 MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 

seems by no means certain, that any law in force in Virginia authorized the imprison- 
ment of any person for preaching. The law for the preservation of the peace was so in- 
terpreted as to answer this purpose ; and accordingly, whenever the preachers were ap- 
prehended it was done by a peace-warrant. About thirty preachers were honored with 
a dungeon, and a few others beside."* 

Among the first, if not the first Baptist preacher in this county, was John Waller, 
born in Spottsylvania in 1741, and a descendant of the honorable family of that name 
jn England. In his youth he let himself loose to every species of wickedness, and ac- 
quired for himself the infamous appellation of Swearing Jack Waller, and was some- 
times called the Devil's Adjutant. He was furious against the Baptists. He was a 
member of a grand jury who presented one of their ministers for preaching. The jury 
being dismissed, the clergyman thanked them for the honor they had done him, and 
added : " While I was wicked and injurious you took no notice of me ; but since I have 
altered my course of life, and endeavored to reform my neighbors, you concern yourselves 
much about me. I shall take the spoiling of my goods joyfully." The meekness of 
spirit manifested by this man towards his persecutors, so touched the heart of Waller 
that it finally resulted in his conversion. In 1770 he was ordained pastor of a church 
established in his neighborhood. Accompanied by a companion he travelled into this 
county, preaching wherever he went. " His name sounded far and wide. By the un- 
godly he was considered as a bold, inexorable fanatic, that would do much mischief un- 
less restrained. The Baptists and their adherents looked upon him as sent for the de- 
fence of their cause, and with much confidence rallied around him as their leader. His 
persecutions in several counties were of the most painful character." He was confined 
m the jail of Urbanna, in this county, forty-six days, 

Mr. Waller continued laboring with great success in the cause. In 1773 he removed 
to South Carolina, where he died in 1802, at the age of 62. He had been " a minister 
of God's word for about 35 years, and in that time had been in four different jails 113 
days, besides receiving reproachings, buffetings, stripes, &C. Nor was his labor in vain 
in the Lord. While in Virginia, he baptized more than 2,000 persons, assisted in the 
ordination of 27 iliinisters, and in the constitution of 18 churches. "t 

" The usual consequences followed ; persecution made friends for its victims ; and the 
men who were not permitted to speak in public, found willing auditors in the sympa- 
thizing crowds who gathered around the prisons to hear them preach from the grated 
windows, It is not improbable that this very opposition imparted strength in another 
mode, inasmuch as it at least furnished the Baptists with a common ground on which 
to make resistance ; and such common ground was in a great degree wanting in their 
creed ; for, not to speak oi their great division into Regulars and Separates, some ' held 
to predestination, others to universal provision ; some adhered to a confession of faith, 
others would have none but the Bible ; some practised laying on of hands, others did 
not ;' and in fact the only particular in which there seems to have been unanimity, 
was in the favorite exclusive opinion of the sect, that none but adult believers are fit sub- 
jects of baptism, and that immersion is the only effectual or authorized mode of admin- 
istering that sacrament."t 

At the commencement of the American revolution, the Baptists had gained consider- 
able influence and power among the people. The dissenters, both the Baptists and 
Presbyterians, were generally repubUcans. The Baptists addressed the convention of 
the state, " and informed that body," says Hawks, " that their religious tenets presented 
no obstacle to their taking up arms and fighting for the country ; and they tendered the 
services of their pastors in promoting the enlistment of the youth of their religious per- 
suasion." It was owing partly to the efforts of the Baptists that the established church 
was abolished in Virginia. In 1785, just previous to the passage of "the Act for 
establishing Religious Freedom," Mr. Madison's able remonstrance was presented to the 
General Assembly " against the general assessment," pointing out the dangers to reli- 
gious liberty and to religion that lurked in the scheme. It was not until this time that 
the dissenting clergymen were allowed by law to perform marriage or funeral rites ; 
although many, presuming on a future sanction of government, had, by the advice of 
Patrick Henry, done so, as being the best means of obtaining a law to that end. 
Many petitions had been and were presented to the legislature, in many different forms. 
Among the rest, the following fines accompanied the petition sent by the Baptists. It 
was addressed " To the Honorable General Assembly," as 

* Benedict's " Historsr of the Baptists." t Taylor's " Lives of Virginia Baptist Ministers." 

t Hawks' " History of the Prot. Ep. Cli. in Va." 



MONONGALIA COUNTY. 



381 



"THE HUMBLE PETITION OF A COUNTRY POET.'' 



Now liberty is all the plan, 
The chief pursuit of every man, 
Whose heart is right, and fills the mouth 
Of patriots all, from north to south ; 
May a poor bard, from bushes sprung, 
Who yet has but to rustics sung, 
Address your honorable House, 
And not your angry passions rouse ■? 

Hark ! for awhile your business stop ; 
One word into your ears I'll drop : 
No longer spend your needless pains. 
To mend and polish o'er our chains • 
But break them off before you rise, 
Nor disappoint our watchful eyes. 

What say great Washington and Lee t 
" Our country is, and must be free." 
What say great Henry, Pendleton, 
And Liberty's minutest son 1 
'Tis all one voice — they all agree, 
*' God made us, and we must be free." 



Freedom we crave with every breath, 
An equal freedom, or a death. 

The heavenly blessing freely give, 
Or make an act we shall not live. 
Tax all things ; water, air, and light. 
If need there be ; yea, tax the night. 
But let our brave heroic minds 
Move freely as celestial winds. 

Make vice and folly feel your rod. 
But leave our consciences to God ; 
Leave each man free to choose his form 
Of piety, nor at him storm. 

And he who minds the civil law, 
And keeps it whole without a flaw, 
Let him, just as he pleases, pray. 
And seek for heav'n in his own way ; 
And if he miss, we all must own, 
No man is WTfong'd but he alone. 



About three miles from Urbanna is one of those decayed churches 
SO common in lower Virginia. It is called " the Middle Church." A 
finely written description of this old church, including monumental 
inscriptions from the church-yard, is in the Southern Literary Mes- 
senger for May, 1842. We annex a single paragraph : 

More than a century, yea, near two centuries have passed since the ringing of the 
mason's trowel broke the stillness of the surrounding forest, when the walls of this temple 
of the living God rose like a flower in the wilderness of Middlesex, and invited the way. 
farer to its sacred precincts. More than half a century has gone by since last the solemn 
organ pealed forth its sublime symphonies, and the anthems of the choir told upon the 
feehngs of rapt worshippers, — now the church is a desolate ruin ; and the choir, and 
the worshippers — where are they ? There is scarcely a vestige of the interior left ; the 

pulpit, the tablets, the altar, the chancel, the , all gone ! The house is roofless, 

windowless. The walls alone are standing. The walls surrounding the spot constitu- 
ting the church-yard, are in ruins too, portions only remaining to mark their boundaries. 
The tombs are nearly all in a dilapidated condition ; but of many, there is enough left 
to mark them as having been monuments of the most exquisite sculpture. 



MONONGALIA. 



Monongalia was formed in 1776, from the district of West Au- 
gusta. It is 50 miles long, with a mean width of 11 miles. The 
county is watered by the Monongahela and its branches. Laurel 
Hill, the last western regular ridge of the Alleghany, lies in the 
eastern part ; the remainder of the county is generally hilly. 
Much of the soil is fertile. The principal exports are stock, iron, 
lumber, and some flour. In 1842, its limits were reduced by the 
formation of Marion. Population in 1840 — whites 16,962, slaves 
260, free colored 146, total, 17,368. 

Morgantown, the county-seat, is 295 miles nw. of Richmond, 35 
NNE. of Clarksburg, and about 60 s. of Pittsburg, Penn. It was 
established in 1785, on the lands of Zaquell Morgan, when, by the 
act, Samuel Hanway, John Evans, David Scot, Michael Kearnes, 
and James Daugherty, gentlemen, were appointed trustees. This 



382 MONONGALIA COUNTY. 

flourishing and wealthy village is handsomely situated on the 
Monongahela — navigable to this place in steamers — in a fertile 
country, and rich in mineral wealth, iron, coal, &c. It contains 
various mills, several mercantile stores, 1 or 2 newspaper printing- 
offices, a female academy, 1 Methodist and 1 Presbyterian church, 
and about 150 dwellings. Jamestown, Granville, Blacksville, and 
Smithfield, are villages in the county, none of which contain over 
35 dwellings. Jackson's iron-works, on Cheat River, are among 
the most valuable in the state. On the road leading from Clarks- 
burg and Beverly, 5 miles from Morgantown, on the plantation of 
Henry Hamilton, there is a large flat rock about 150 feet long and 
50 wide, with numerous engravings of animals, well executed — 
such as panthers of full size, buflalo-tracks, horse-tracks, deer- 
tracks, turkey-tracks, eels, fish, women as large as life, human 
tracks, otters, beavers, snakes, crows, eagles, wild-cats, foxes, 
wolves, raccoons, opossums, bears, elks, &c. 

An attempt was made at a settlement in the present limits of 
this county, as early as the French war, an account of which is 
here given from Withers : 

Dr. Thomas Eckarly and his two brothers came from Pennsylvania, and camped at 
the mouth of a creek emptying into the Monongahela eight or ten miles below Morgan- 
town; they were Dunkards, and from that circumstance the watercourse on which they 
fixed themselves for awhile, has been called Dunkard's creek. While their camp con- 
tinued at this place, these men were engaged in exploring the country ; and ultimately 
settled on Cheat River, at the Dunkard bottom. Here they erected a cabin for their 
dwelling, and made such improvements as enabled them to raise the first year, a crop 
of corn sufficient for their use, and some culinary vegetables : their guns supplied them 
with an abundance of meat, of a flavor as delicious as the refined palate of a modern 
epicure could well wish. Their clothes were made chiefly of the skins of animals, 
and were easily procured ; and although calculated to give a grotesque appearance to a 
fine gentleman in a city drawing-room, yet were they particularly suited to their situa- 
tion, and afforded them comfort. 

Here they spent some years entirely unmolested by the Indians, although a destruc- 
tive war was then waging, and prosecuted with cruelty, along the whole extent of our 
frontier. At length, to obtain an additional supply of ammunition, salt, and shirting, 
Dr. Eckarly left Cheat with a pack of furs and skins, to visit a trading-post on the 
Shenandoah. On his return he stopped at Fort Pleasant, on the South Branch, and 
having communicated to its inhabitants the place of his residence, and the length of time 
he had been living there, he was charged with being in confederacy with the Indians, 
and probably at that instant a spy, examining the condition of the fort. In vain the 
Doctor protested his innocence, and the fact that he had not even seen an Indian in the 
country ; the suffering condition of the border settlements rendered his account, in their 
opinion, improbable, and he was put in confinement. 

The society of which Dr. Eckarly was a member, was rather obnoxious to a majority 
of the frontier inhabitants. Their intimacy with the Indians, although cultivated with 
the most laudable motives, and for noble purposes, yet made them objects at least of 
distrust to many. Laboring under these disadvantages, it was with difficulty that Dr. 
Eckarly prevailed on the officer of the fort to release him ; and when this was done, he 
was only permitted to go home under certain conditions — he was to be escorted by a 
guard of armed men, who were to carry him back if any discovery were made preju- 
dicial to him. Upon their arrival at Cheat, the truth of his statement was awfully con- 
firmed. The first spectacle which presented itself to their view, when the party came 
in sight of where the cabin had been, was a heap of ashes. On approaching the ruins, 
the half-decayed and mutilated bodies of the poor Dunkards were seen in the yard ; the 
hoops on which their scalps had been dried were there, and the ruthless hand of desola- 
tion had waved over their little fields. Dr. Eckarly aided in burying the remains of his 
uufoftunate brothers, and returned to the fort on the South Branch. 



MONROE COUNTY. 383 

In the fall of 1758, Thomas Decker and some others commenced a settlement on the 
Monongahela River, at the mouth of what is now Decker's creek. In the ensuing spring 
it was entirely broken up by a party of Delawares and Mingoes, and the greater part of 
its inhabitants murdered. 

There was at this time, at Brownsville, a fort then known as Redstone Fort, under 
the command of Captain Paul. One of Decker's party escaped from the Indians who 
destroyed the settlement, and making his way to Fort Redstone, gave to its commander 
the melancholy inteUigence. The garrison being too weak to admit of sending a de- 
tachment in pursuit. Captain Paul dispatched a runner with the information to Captain 
John Gibson, then stationed at Fort Pitt. Leaving the fort under the command of 
Lieut. Williamson, Captain Gibson set out with thirty men to intercept the Indians on 
their return to their towns. 

In consequence of the distance which the pursuers had to go, and the haste with 
which the Indians had retreated, the expedition failed in its object ; they however 
accidentally came on a party of six or seven Mingoes, on the head of Cross creek, in 
Ohio, near Steubenville. These had been prowling about the river, below Fort Pitt, 
seeking an opportunity of committing depredations. As Captain Gibson passed the 
point of a small knoll, just after daybreak, he came unexpectedly upon them. Some of 
them were lying down ; the others were .sitting round a fire, making thongs of green 
hides. Kiskepila, or Little Eagle, a Mingo chief, headed the party. So soon as he 
discovered Captain Gibson, he raised the war-whoop and fired his rifle ; the ball passed 
through Gibson's hunting-shirt, and wounded a soldier just behind him. Gibson sprang 
forward, and swinging his sword with herculean force, severed the head of Little Eagle 
from his body. Two other Indians were shot down, and the remainder escaped to their 
towns on the Muskingum. 

When the captives who were restored under the treaty of 1763 came in, those who 
were at the Mingo towns when the remnant of Kiskepila's party returned, stated that 
the Indians represented Gibson as having cut off Little Eagle's head with a long knife 
Several of the white persons were then sacrificed to appease the manes of Kiskepila 
and a war-dance ensued, accompanied with terrific shouts, and bitter denunciations of 
revenge on " the big-knife warrior." This name was soon after applied to the Virginia 
militia generally ; and to this day they are known among the northwestern Indians 
as the " Long Knives" or " Big Knife nation." 



MONROE. 

Monroe was formed in 1799, from Greenbrier, and named from 
President Monroe ; its mean length is 31 miles, mean breadth 18| 
miles. New River forms its southwestern boundary, and receives 
in its course the Greenbrier River, Indian Creek, and some minor 
streams. Much of the county is mountainous ; but as a whole, it 
is a thriving agricultural section, having a large proportion of fer- 
tile soil, well adapted to grazing. Pop., whites 7,457, slaves 868, 
free colored 97 ; total, 8,422. 

Union, the county-seat, lies 229 miles west of Richmond. It is 
a beautiful little village, situated in a picturesque and fertile valley, 
14 miles west of the Alleghany mountains, and contains 3 mercan- 
tile stores, 1 Methodist, and 1 Presbyterian church, and a population 
of about 400. Peterstown, named from its first settler. Christian 
Peters, lies in the south angle of the county, on Rich's Creek, near 
the point where New River breaks through the Alleghany, and 
about 20 miles southerly from Union, in a wild, romantic country. 
Its site is well adapted for machinery, and it contains about 25 
dwellings. Gap Mills, 8 miles n. of the C. H., contains 1 fulling^ 



384 MONROE COUNTY. 

1 flour, 1 saw, and 1 oil mill, 1 woollen factory, 1 distillery, 1 tan- 
nery, and a few dwellings. 

This county is favored with several noted and popular mineral 
springs. They are the Salt Sulphur, the Sweet, and the Red Sul- 
phur Springs ; the improvements at all of which are extensive. 
The descriptions below are from published sources : 

The Red Sulphur Springs are situated on Indian creek, about 40 miles sw. of the 
White Sulphur, and 16 from the Salt Sulphur. The spring is near one side of a little 
triangular plain, almost buried in mountains. The water is clear and cool — its tempe- 
rature being 54° Fahrenheit — is very strongly charged with sulphureted hydrogen gas, 
and contains portions of several neutral salts. The water is believed to be directly 
sedative, indirectly tonic, alterative, diuretic, and diaphoretic. 

The water has been found efficacious in all forms of consumption, scrofula, jaundice, 
and other bilious aifections, chronic dysentery and diarrhcea, dyspepsia, diseases of the 
uterus, chronic rheumatism and gout, dropsy, gravel, neuralgia, tremor, syphilis, scurvy, 
erysipelas, tetter, ringworm, and itch ; and it has long been celebrated As a vermifuge. 

The Salt Sulphur Springs are 25 miles from the White Sulphur, and 3 miles from 
the village of Union, on Indian Valley creek. There are at this place three springs — 
the Sweet, the Salt Sulphur, and the New Spring. The last contains a large portion 
of iodine, and is highly beneficial for scrofula, and those affections for which iodine is 
generally given. The two first are somewhat alike in their properties. The analysis 
of the Salt Sulphur is thus given by Prof. Rogers : 

Solid ingredients. — Sulphate of lime, sulphate of magnesia, sulphate of soda, car- 
bonate of lime, carbonate of magnesia, chloride of sodium, chloride of magnesium, 
chloride of calcium, iodine, probably combined with sodium — sulpho-hydrate of so- 
dium and magnesium, sulphur, mingled with a peculiar organic matter — peroxide of 
iron derived from proto-sulphate. 

Gaseous ingredients. — Sulphureted hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, carbonic acid. The 
bubbles of gas that are seen adhering to the sides of the spring, are composed almost 
entirely of nitrogen. The temperature of this is 50° Fahrenheit. 

The Salt Sulphur, like almost all the sulphurous waters, being a stimulant, should 
consequently not be employed in acute or highly inflammatory affections. Nor in those 
in which there exists much active determination of blood to the head, or at least not 
until this determination has been guarded against by previous diet, purgation, and, if 
necessary, blood-letting. But in all chronic afliections of the brain, nervous system, 
some diseases of the lungs, stomach, bowels, liver, spleen, kidneys, and bladder, it is 
one of the most valuable of our remedial agents. In diseases of the joints (gout and 
rheumatism) and skin ; in mercurial sequelse ; in hsemorrhoidal affections ; and in 
chronic diseases of the womb, it is also a remedy of immense importance. 

The Sweet Springs are situated in a wide and beautiful valley, 18 miles from the 
White Sulphur, and 29 from Fincastle. The following description of the medicinal pro- 
perties of the Sweet Spring waters, is taken from Dr. Bell, on baths and mineral waters : 
The water of the spring rises into a large cylindrical reservoir, from opposite sides of 
which it flows out by small pipes : one conveying water to the bath for the men, the 
other to that for the ladies. The men's bath is of a quadrangular form, surrounded by 
a wall, and open at the top ; it is of tolerable extent, and clear, the bottom being of 
gravel, and the water constantly flowing in, and as constantly passing out, after it 
reaches a certain height. The temperature of the spring is 73*^ Fahr., the same as that 
which in England, by a strange blunder, is called Bristol hot wells. There is a consid- 
erable resemblance between the two in other respects, as well in the abundant evolution 
of the carbonic acid gas, as in the earthy and saline matters held in solution. In the 
Virginia spring, however, iron has been detected, whereas the Bristol hot wells has none 
In its composition. If we can rely on the rather crude analysis of Bouelle, one quart 
of the water of the Sweet Spring contains — 

Saline substances in general, 12 to 15 grains ; earthy substances, 18 to 24 do. ; iron, 
i to 1 do. 

The saline substances are sulphate of magnesia, muriate of soda, and muriate of lime, 
with a little sulphate of lime. The earthy substances consist of sulphate of lime, a 
small portion of carbonate of magnesia and lime, with a small portion of silicious earth. 
The name is calculated to convey erroneous impressions of their taste, which is like a 
solution of a small quantity of a calcareous or raagnesian carbonate. The excees of 



MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 385 

carbonic acid gives, however, the waters a briskness, productive of a very different effect 
on the palate from what an imperfect mixture of the earths would produce. The first 
effects of this water, due to its temperature and gaseous contents, when drunk, are a 
feeling of warmth at the stomach, with a sensation of fulness at the head and some 
giddiness. Taken at stated intervals in moderate quantity, it will produce a moisture 
on the skin and increase the flow of urine. If the stomach be in a good state, it gives 
additional appetite and imparts fresh vigor to the system. The Sweet Spring water is 
serviceable in the varieties of dyspepsia accompanied by gastrodynia or spasm, with 
pains occurring at irregular intervals, and heart-burn — when the extremities are cold, 
and the skin torpid. In secondary debility of the digestive canal, from the exhausting 
heat of summer, or in chronic diarrhoea, and dysentery without fever, or not sustained 
by hepatic inflammation, much good will be produced by the internal use of these 
waters. 

The harassing cough to which young persons are occasionally subject, and which 
often has its origin in an enfeebled state of the stomach, or in scrofulous habits from 
enlargement of the bronchial glands, as also the tussis humoralis of old people, will all 
be materially benefited by the use of these waters. The relief afforded in such cases 
as these has usually given Bristol hot wells its reputation in the cure of pulmonary con- 
sumption. Females of what are termed a nervous habit of body, will find their 
strength and health restored by drinking these waters, as well as bathing in the manner 
to be soon mentioned. Irregularity in the uterine functions will often soon disappear 
after the restoration of the digestive system to its former energy. As we should have 
inferred from the excess of carbonic acid, and the presence of the earthy carbonates in 
the water, it is useful in calculus and nephritic complaints. 

About a mile north of the Sweet Spring, is the Red Spring of Alleghany. This 
spring is a popular one, and the waters are said to be peculiarly efficacious in rheumatic 
complaints. 



MONTGOMERY. 

Montgomery was formed in 1776, from Fincastle county,* and 
named from Gen. Montgomery : it is about 23 miles long, and 22 
broad. New River runs on its southwestern border, which, with 
the head- waters of Roanoke River, drain the county. The face of 
the county is broken and mountainous, though the streams are bor- 
dered with excellent soil, which yield heavy crops of corn and 
wheat. Pop. in 1840, whites 5,825, slaves 1,473, free colored 87 ; 
total, 7,405. 

Christiansburg, the county-seat, lies 203 miles southwesterly 
from Richmond, 46 miles from Fincastle, and 47 from Wytheville, 
on the main stage-road from Richmond to Nashville, Tenn. It was 
established by law Oct. 10, 1792, and the following gentlemen ap- 
pointed trustees: Christian Snido, Byrd Smith, James Barnett, 
Hugh Crockett, Samuel Eason, Joseph Cloyd, John Preston, James 
Charlton, and James Craig. It contains 4 stores, 1 Presbyterian 
and 1 Methodist church, and a population of about 400. Blacks- 
burg, 9 miles north of the C. H., contains 1 Presbyterian and 1 
Methodist church, and a population of about 250. Lafayette, in 
the north part of the county, at the junction of the two forks of 
the Roanoke, contains a Methodist church, and about 45 dwellings. 

* Fincastle county was formed in 1772 from Botetourt, and extinguished in 1776 by 
the formation of Washington, Montgomery, and Kentucky counties from its territory. 

49 



386 NANSEMOND COUNTY. 



MORGAN. 

MoEGAN, named from Gen. Daniel Morgan, was formed in 1820 
from Hampshire and Berkeley : its mean length is 22 miles, mean 
width 16 miles. Great Cacapon and Sleepy creek flow north- 
wardly through the county, and empty into the Potomac. The 
Baltimore and Ohio rail-road passes through the northern part. 
Much of the surface is broken and rocky ; but there is considera- 
ble good soil upon the streams. Pop. in 1840, whites 4,113, slaves 
134, free colored 6 ; total, 4,253. 

Bath, or Berkeley Springs, the county-seat, is a small village near 
the Potomac, and on the line of the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road, 
180 miles from Richmond, 93 from Washington, 45 w. of Harper's 
Ferry, and 40 n. of Winchester. The springs at this place are 
much frequented by invalids, and others in search of health or 
pleasure. Though the waters are but slightly impregnated with 
the mineral ingredients, they are in high repute, and are said to be 
very beneficial in many diseases. 



NANSEMOND. 

This county was in existence as early as 1639-40 ; at which 
time an act was passed defining its boundaries. It bore at first the 
name of Upper Norfolk. In 1645-6 its name was changed to 
Nansimum, which word is spelt by Capt. John Smith, Nandsamund. 
It is 35 miles long, with an average breadth of 15 miles. The 
rail-road from Portsmouth to Weldon, N. C, passes through the 
county. The Dismal swamp extends along the eastern edge of 
the county, and a small part of Lake Drummond is within its lim- 
its. A good portion of the land belonging to the Dismal Swamp 
Company, is situated within the county. The growth of the swamp 
consists of juniper, cypress, gum, ash, maple, and pine. The com- 
pany manufacture and export large quantities of shingles. Agri- 
culture is not so thriving in this county as in many others. Marl 
is found in many places. The leading articles of trade are tar, 
turpentine, and staves. Pop. in 1840, whites 4,858, slaves 4,530, 
free colored 1,407 ; total, 10,795. 

Chuckatuck, on the stage-road from Suffolk to Smithfield, and 
Somerton, near the northern line, contain each a few dwellings. 

Suffolk, the county-seat, is on the Nansemond River, on the line 
of the Portsmouth and Roanoke rail-road, 18 miles sw. of Norfolk, 
and 85 from Richmond. This town was established by law in 
1742, and has generally been thriving, and a place of considerable, 
business. Vessels of 100 tons come up the river to this town. It 
contains 1 Episcopal, 1 Baptist, and 2 Methodist chuFches, and a 



NANSEMOND COUNTY. 387 

population of about 1,200. Smith, an English traveller, who was 
through here in 1784, forty-two years after the town was estab- 
lished, thus describes it : 

Suffolk contains about a hundred houses, and carries on a pretty brisk trade, having 
a considerable share of the commerce of the northern counties of North Carolina. Suf- 
folk stands on a soil so very sandy, that in every step in the street the sand comes above 
your ankles, which renders it extremely disagreeable. To remedy this inconvenience in 
some small degree, near their doors they have emptied barrels of tar or pitch, which 
spreads wide — the sand incorporating with it, and forming a hard, solid consistence, 
some kind of apology for pavement, and thereby renders walking much more tolerable. 
The houses in Suffolk are low, being generally not more than one story high, which is 
indeed the ground story only. The trade of this place consists chiefly of turpentine, tar, 
pitch, tobacco, and pork, which is killed, salted, and barrelled up here ; also lumber, In- 
dian corn, and some wheat. , 

In the year 1779, Sir Henry Clinton projected a plan to humble 
the pride and destroy the resources of Virginia. He sent a pow- 
erful fleet, which anchored in Hampton Roads, landed a heavy force 
under Gen. Matthews, which took possession of Portsmouth and 
Norfolk, and committed extensive devastations. It was on thi ^ ex- 
pedition, May 13th, that Suffolk was burnt, the account of which 
here given, is from Girardin : 

No sooner was intelligence received of the arrival of the British in Hampton Roads, 
than the militia of Nansemond county were called to arms. Suffolk was the place of 
general rendezvous. About two hundred men assembled there, with such weapons as 
they could procure from their own homes. Few of them had muskets, and still fewer 
ammunition. This, however, they obtained from Capt. Bright, who commanded the 
letter of marque, the brig Mars. Bright also furnished two pieces of ordnance, which 
were immediately mounted upon the carriages of carts. The whole of this little army, 
headed by Col. Willis Riddick, proceeded about eight miles on the Norfolk road, and, on 
the evening of the 11th of May, encamped in a large uncultivated field, in front of Capt. 
James Murdaugh's house. Before this movement, three well-mounted young Virginians, 
Josiah Riddick, Thomas Granbury, and Thomas Brittle, had been dispatched to recon- 
noitre the enemy. They were surprised and made prisoners, just below Hall's mills, in 
Norfolk county — conveyed to New York, where they remained for eighteen months in a 
state of captivity. Thus did the party under Col. Riddick continue in entire ignorance 
of the numbers and motions of the enemy. 

To a tavern, about a mile below the encampment of the militia, Captains King and 
Davis had repaired for the night. In front of this tavern was a lane with draw-bars at 
its extremity. These were soon heard to rattle ; alarmed at this noise. King and Davis 
seized their muskets, and flew to the door. King leaped out, and fired to give the alarm. 
The British platoon discharged, and shot Davis through the heart. King, well ac- 
quainted with the country, soon reached the Virginian camp, and informed his comrades 
of approaching hostility. The violence of the wind, blowing in an unfavorable direc- 
tion, had prevented them from hearing the report even of the British musketry, discharged 
so near them. Col. Willis Riddick, not suspecting the approach of the foe, had retired 
to his own house. The command, therefore, devolved upon Col. Edward Riddick. The 
militia retraced their steps to Suffolk, which they reached before the dawn. Two offi. 
cers, mounted on fleet horses, were then dispatched to ascertain the situation and force 
of the enemy. Four miles below Suffolk they halted, and immediately after sunrise, in 
the entrance of a lane, about one quarter of a mile long, had a full view of the advanc- 
ing foe, and distinctly counted 600 infantry. They rode back in full speed, and, upon 
calling the militia to arms, about one hundred only obeyed the call. The others had dis- 
persed. A retreat became unavoidable — every man was admonished to take care of 
himself. Most of the inhabitants had already left their homes. Few could save their 
effects. Such as delayed their flight, in attempting to secure their property, were taken 
prisoners. Ruthless devastation attended the British. They set fire to the town, and 
nearly the whole was consumed. Several hundred barrels of tar, pitch, turpentine, and 
rum, had been deposited on lots contiguous to the wharves. The heads of the barrels 
being knocked out, and their contents, which flowed in a commingled mass, catching the 



388 NEW KENT COUNTY. 

blaze, descended to tne river, like torrents of burning lava. As the wind blew from the 
wharves with great violence, these substances, with difficulty soluble in water, rapidly 
floated to the opposite shore in a splendid state of conflagration, whicli they communi- 
cated to the thick and decaying herbage of an extensive marsh, the growth of the pre- 
ceding year. This immense sheet of fire, added to the vast columns of undulating 
flames which ascended from the burning houses in the town— the explosion, at intervals, 
of the gunpowder in the magazines — the consequent projection through the air of large 
pieces of ignited timber, which flew, like meteors, to an astonishing distance — all con- 
tributed to form a collective scene of horror, and subhmity, and desolation, such as could 
not be viewed without emotions not to be described. 



NELSON. 

Nelson was formed in 1807, from Amherst, and named from 
Thomas Nelson, governor of Virginia in 1781. It is about 26 
miles long, and 20 broad. The face of the country is broken and 
mountainous, particularly as it approaches the Blue Ridge. The 
mountains contain generally a fine rich soil ; and their intervening 
valleys, and the low grounds upon the streams, are fertile. To- 
bacco was formerly more cultivated than at present, but the less 
land-exhausting crops of wheat and rye have succeeded. An in- 
creased attention is being paid to husbandry, and the old injudi- 
cious modes of culture are being done away vi^ith. As a whole, 
the county is a fertile and wealthy one. Population in 1840, 
whites 6,168, slaves 5,967, free colored 152; total, 12,287. 

Lovingston, the county-seat, is on a branch of the Tye River, 
near the centre of the county, on the stage-road from Lynchburg 
to Charlottesville, 105 miles northwesterly from Richmond. It is 
beautifully situated in a cove surrounded by romantic mountain- 
ous scenery. The religious denominations are Methodist, Baptist, 
and Presbyterian. It has several mercantile stores, and a popula- 
tion of about 300. At New Market, at the influx of the Tye 
River into the James, in the southern part of the county, there is 
a tobacco inspection, where several hundred hogsheads of tobacco 
are annually inspected. The annual amount of tobacco produced 
in the county, is over two millions of pounds. Faber's Mills, in 
the west part, contains a Baptist church and a few dwellings. 



NEW KENT. 

New Kent was formed in 1654, from York. The botindaries 
were then defined as follows : " It is ordered that the upper part 
of York county shall be a distinct county called New Kent, from 
the west side of Scimino creek to the heads of Pamunkey and Mat- 
taponie River, and down to the head of the west side of Poropo- 
tanke creek." The Pamunkey runs on its northern and the Chicka- 
hominy on its southern boundary : to each of these the respective 



NEW KENT COUNTY. 389 

portions of the county incline. New Kent is about 26 miles long 
and 9 broad. Population in 1840, whites 2A12, slaves 3,385, 
free colored 373 ; total, 6,230. 

New Kent C. H., or Bassettville, is 30 miles e. of Richmond, 
and 3 miles s. of the Pamunkey. It contains several stores and 
taverns, and about a dozen dwellings. 

Beautifully situated on the banks of the Pamunkey, is the man- 
sion known as " the White Housed'' It stands on the site of the 
one in which Washington was married. From Custis's Life of 
Mrs. Martha Washington, we extract the account of his courtship 
and marriage : 

It was in 1758 that Washington, attired in a military undress, and attended by a body 
servant, tall and miUtaire as his chief, crossed the ferry called Williams's, over the Pa- 
munkey, a branch of the York River. On the boat touching the southern or New Kent 
side, the soldier's progress was arrested by one of those personages who give the beau 
id^al of the Virginia gentleman of the old regime, the very soul of kindness and hospi- 
tality. It was in vain the soldier urged his business at Williamsburg, important com- 
munications to the governor, &c. Mr. Chamberlayne, on whose domain the militaire 
had just landed, would hear of no excuse. Col. Washington was a name and character 
so dear to all Virginians, that his passing by one of the castles of Virginia, without call- 
ing and partaking of the hospitalities of the host, was entirely out of the question. The 
colonel, however, did not surrender at discretion, but stoutly maintained his ground till 
Chamberlayne, bringing up his reserve, in the intimation that he would introduce his 
friend to a young and charming widow, then beneath his roof, the soldier capitulated, on 
condition that he should dine — only dine — and then, by pressing his charger and bor- 
rowing of the night, he would reach Williamsburg before his excellency could shake off 
his morning slumbers. Orders were accordingly issued to Bishop, the colonel's body 
servant and faithful follower, who, together with the fine English charger, had been be- 
queathed by the dying Braddock to Major Washington, on the famed and fated field of 
Monongahela. Bishop, bred in the school of European discipline, raised his hand to his 
cap, as much as to say, " Your orders shall be obeyed." 

The colonel now proceeded to the mansion, and was introduced to various guests, (for 
when was a Virginia domicil of the olden time without guests?) and, above all, to the 
charming widow. Tradition relates that they were mutually pleased, on this, their first 
interview — nor is it remarkable ; they were of an age when impressions are strongest. 
The lady was fair to behold, of fascinating manners, and splendidly endowed with 
worldly benefits. The hero was fresh from his early fields, redolent of fame, and with 
a form on which " every god did seem to set his seal, to give the world assurance of a 
man." 

The morning passed pleasantly away, evening came, with Bishop, true to his orders 
and firm at his post, holding the favorite charger with one hand, while the other was 
waiting to offer the ready stirrup. The sun sunk in the horizon, and yet the colonel ap- 
peared not. " 'Twas strange, 'twas passing strange ;" surely he was not wont to be a 
single moment behind his appointments — for he was the most punctual of all men. 

Meantime, the host enjoyed the scene of the veteran at the gate, while the colonel 
was so agreeably employed in the parlor; and proclaiming that no visitor ever left his 
home at sunset, his military guest was, without much difficulty, persuaded to order 
Bishop to put up the horses for the night. The sun rode high in the heavens the ensuing 
day, when the enamored soldier pressed with his spur his charger's side, and speeded on 
his way to the seat of government, where, having dispatched his public business, he re- 
traced his steps, and, at the White House, the engagement took place, with preparations 
for marriage. 

And much hath the biographer heard of that marriage, from the gray-haired domes- 
tics who waited at the board where love made the feast and Washington the guest. And 
rare and high was the revelry at that palmy period of Virginia's festal age ; for many 
were gathered to that marriage, of the good, the great, the gifted, and they, with joyous 
acclamations, hailed in Virginia's youthful hero a happy and prosperous bridegroom. 

" And so you remember when Colonel Washington came a courting of your young 
mistress?" said the biographer to old Cully, in his hundredth year. "Ay, master, that 



390 NEW KENT COUNTV. 

I do," replied the ancient family servant, who had lived to see five generations ; " great 
times, sir, great times — shall never see the like again !" " And Washington looked 
something like a man, a pi-oper man — hey, Cully ?" " Never seed the like, sir — never 
the like of him, though I have seen many in my day — so tall, so straight ! and then he 
sat on a horse and rode with such an air! Ah, sir, he was like no one else. Many of 
the grandest gentlemen, in the gold lace, were at the wedding ; but none looked like the 
man himself." Strong, indeed, must have been the impression which the person and 
manner of Washington made upon the "rude, untutored mind" of this poor negro, since 
the lapse of three-quarters of a century had not sufficed to efface it. 

The precise date of the marriage the biographer has been unable to discover, having 
in vain searched among the records of the vestry of St. Peter's church. New Kent, of 
whicii the Rev. Mr. Munson, a Cambridge scholar, was the rector, and performed the 
ceremony, it is believed, about 1759. A short time after their marriage. Colonel and 
Mrs. Washington removed to Mount Vernon, on the Potomac, and permanently settled 
there. 

" This union," says Sparks, " was in every respect felicitous. It continued forty 
years. To her intimate acquaintances and to the nation, the character of Mrs. Wash- 
ington was ever a theme of praise. Affable and courteous, exemplary in her deport- 
ment, remarkable for her deeds of charity and piety, unostentatious, and without vanity, 
she adorned by her domestic virtues the sphere of private life, and filled with dignity 
every station in which she was placed." 

Previous to his acquaintance with Mrs. Custis, Washington had been pleased with 
other ladies. The author above quoted on this point says, that in 1756, " While in New 
York, he was lodged and kindly entertained at the house of Mr. Beverley Robinson, be- 
tween whom and himself an intimacy of friendship subsisted, which, indeed, continued 
without change, till severed by tlieir opposite fortunes twenty years afterwards in the 
revolution. It happened that Miss Mary Philips, a sister of Mrs. Robinson, and a 
young lady of rare accomplishments, was an inmate in the family. The charms of this 
lady made a deep impression upon the heart of the Virginia colonel. He went to Boston, 
returned, and was again welcomed to the hospitality of Mr. Robinson. He lingered 
there till duty called him away ; but he was careful to intrust his secret to a confidential 
friend, whose letters kept him informed of every important event. In a few months in- 
telligence came, that a rival was in the field, and that the consequences could not be 
answered for, if he delayed to renew his visits to New York. Whether time, the bustle 
of a camp, or the scenes of war had moderated his admiration, or whether he despaired 
of success, is not known. He never saw the lady again till she was married to that 
same rival, Captain Morris, his former associate in arms, and one of Braddock's aids-de- 
camp. 

" He had before felt the influence of the tender passion. At the age of seventeen, he 
was smitten by the graces of a fair one, whom he called a ' lowland beauty,' and 
whose praises he recorded in glowing strains, while wandering with his surveyor's com- 
pass among the Alleghany mountains. On that occasion he wrote desponding letters 
to a friend, and indited plaintive verses, but never ventured to reveal his emotions to tlie 
lady who was unconsciously the cause of his pains." 

On the eastern bank of Ware creek, a tributary of York River, 
and the dividing line of New Kent and James City counties, is the 
" Stone House," as it is called, which is perhaps the most curious 
relic of antiquity in Virginia. A writer — C. C. of Petersburg — 
in a late number of the Southern Literary Messenger, gives the 
following sketch : 

The Stone House Is distant from the mouth of Ware creek five miles, from W^illiams. 
burg fifteen, and from Jamestown twenty-two. The walls and chimney, which remain, 
are composed of sandstone. The house is eighteen and a half feet by fifteen in extent. 
It consists of a basement room under ground and a story above. On the west side is a 
doorway six feet wide, giving entrance to both apartments. There are loop-holes in the 
walls, measuring on the inside twenty by ten inches, on the outside twenty by four. 
The walls are in the basement two feet thick, in the upper story eighteen inches thick. 
The masonry bears marks of having been executed with great care and nicety. The 
house stands in an extensive waste of woods, on a high knoll or promontory, around the 
foot of which winds Ware creek. The structure fronts on the creek, being elevated one 



NEW KENT COUNTY. 



391 



hundred feet above its level, and standing back three hundred feet from its margin. 
The spot is approached only by a long circuitous defile, the comb of a ridge, in some 
places so narrow that two carts could not pass abreast. This defile is, besides, involved 
in such a labyrinth of dark ridges of forest and deep gloomy ravines, mantled with 
laurel, that it is said to be next to impossible to find the way without the aid of a guide. 
Nor is the place more accessible by water. The surrounding country is described as 
the most broken and desert tract to be found east of the Blue Ridge. 




Ancient Stone Structure on Ware Creek. 

The singular structure of the old " Stone House," and its wild, secluded, desolate site, 
have naturally given rise to several traditions and conjectures as to its origin and pur- 
pose. It is said that there is a neighborhood tradition, that the house was erected as early 
as thirteen years after the landing at Jamestown — and that it was built by the famous 
pirate Blackbeard, as a depository of his plunder. This hypothesis, however, involves a 
serious anachronism ; since it is well established that Blackbeard did not figure in the 
waters of Virginia until about the year 1717 — more than a century after the landing at 
Jamestown. 

Another fanciful conjecture is, that the " Stone House," like the cave where Dido 
entertained ^neas, was a sort of rendezvous meeting-place of Captain Smith and 
Pocahontas ! This is rather too romantic. 

Another conjecture, much more plausible than either of those above mentioned, is that 
the house was built by the adherents of Bacon in his rebellion, who, after their leader's 
death, still held out so pertinaciously against Governor Berkeley. This surmise, however, 
w^ould seem to be unfounded. Firstly, it is well known that those followers of Bacon 
occupied West Point at the head of York River, strongly fortified it, and made it their 
place of arms. That post in their hands actually proved impregnable against repeated 
assaults of the governor's forces under Ludwell. And Sir William Berkeley, at length 
fatigued by their resolute defence, in order to induce their surrender, was obliged to offer 
the rebels there a general pardon, which nothing less than the last necessity could have 
extorted from him. The position occupied by Bacon's adherents at West Point being 
so strong and every way convenient, there could have been no motive to prompt them 
to build another fortification on Ware creek. 

In the next place, it is altogether improbable that the vindictive vigilance of Berkeley 
would have suffered Bacon's followers unmolested to erect such a work as the '' Stone 
House," whose elaborate construction would seem rather to indicate that it was built in 
the leisure of peace, than in the anxious precipitancy of a hard-pressed and hopeless 
rebellion. 

Lastly, of Bacon's rebellion there are several minute circumstantial accounts, and it 
is improbable that Beverly, T. M., and others, would have omitted a fact so interesting 
as the erection of a fortified work on Ware creek, when they were detailing so many 
other particulars of less consequence. 



392 NOBFOLK COUNXy. 

So much for these conjectures. I now beg leave to suggest another, founded on the 
following passage : 

" JVe built aJso a fort for a retreat ncere a convenient river, upon a high commanding hill, very hard to 
be assalted and easic to be defended, but ere it was finished this defect caused a stay. In searching our 
casked come, we found it halfe rotten and the rest so consumed with so many thousands of rats that 
increased so fast, but their originall was from the ships, as we knew not how to keepe that little we had. 
This did drive us all to our wits end, for there was nothing in the country but what nature afforded." * * 
" But this want of come occasioned the end of all our works, it being works sufficient to provide vic- 
tudU."— Smith's Hist, of Va., B. III., p. 227. 

Upon lately meeting with this passage in Smith, I was forcibly struck with the 
coincidence between the fort thus spoken of by him and the " Stone House." If the 
conjecture be well founded, it will entitle that structure to the claim of being the oldest 
house in Virginia, if not in the United States, as the fort mentioned by Smith was 
erected about the year 1608-9, only two or three years after the landing at Jamestown, 
which would make it about two hundred and thirty-four years old. Smith says, " We 
built also a fort for a retreat ;" that is, a retreat from the Indians in case Jamestown 
should have been overpowered. " Neere a convenient river." The " Stone House" is 
about a hundred yards from Ware creek. " A convenient river," — by the description 
given above, it is seen that no situation could have been more eligible. It may be worth 
while to observe that the name of the river is not given ; now, in all probability. Ware 
creek at that early day had not been named by the English, being an unimportant 
stream. " Upon a high commanding hill ;" this answers exactly to the site of the 
" Stone House." " Very hard to be assalted and easie to be defended ;" all the descrip- 
tions of the " Stone House" fully confirm these particulars. " But ere it was finished 
this defect caused a stay," &c. * * " But this want of corne occasioned the end of 
all our works," &c. Now the " Stone House" is apparently incomplete, and there is 
neither roof nor floor ; this unfinished appearance seems to have puzzled some of its 
visitors. Smith's statement, however, that it was left unfinished, may at once solve the 
enigma. 

From all these corroborating circumstances, there seems to be good reason to con- 
clude that the " Stone House" is the fort mentioned by Smith. Its antiquity, the asso- 
ciations connected with it, the superstitious fancies to which it has given rise, and its 
wild and sequestered situation, all conspire to render the old " Stone House" an attrac- 
tive object to the tourist and the antiquary, and, perhaps, not uninteresting even to the 
novelist and poet. 



NICHOLAS. 

Nicholas was formed in 1818, from Kanawha, Greenbrier, and 
Randolph. It is 44 miles long, with a mean width of 20 miles. 
It is watered by Gauley and Elk Rivers, — the latter of which is a 
beautiful flowing .stream, susceptible, at a small expense, of being 
made navigable to its source. The soil and climate present great 
variety ; being in some parts very warm and fertile, in others cold, 
barren, and mountainous. Pop. in 1840, whites 2,440, slaves 72, 
free colored 3 ; total, 2,515. 

Summerville, the county-seat, 310 miles from Richmond, and 
about 70 from the Ohio, contains about 25 dwellings. 



NORFOLK. 

Norfolk was formed in 1691, from Lower Norfolk, afterwards 
changed to the name of Nansemond. Its length from n. to s. is 32 
miles, mean width 17 miles. The Portsmouth and Roanoke rail- 



NORFOLK COUNTY. 398 

road, which is 77 miles long, commences at Portsmouth, in this 
county, and terminates on the Roanoke River, at Weldon, N. 0. 
The Dismal Swamp Canal, 22 miles long, connects Chesapeake 
Bay with Albemarle Sound, North Carolina. The north end 
empties into Deep creek, a branch of Elizabeth River ; and the 
south into Joice's creek, a branch of the Pasquotank River. This 
canal passes for 20 miles through the Great Dismal Swamp, and 
has been a work of great labor and difficulty. It was commenced 
in 1787, under a joint charter of the two states; but was not fin* 
ished until a few years since. It is one of the best canals in 
the Union, is navigated by sloops and schooners, and does much 
business. Lake Drummond, near the centre of the Dismal Swamp, 
in times of great drought is its only feeder. In addition, a new 
cut of 2| miles long, from the town of Deep Creek direct to the 
Elizabeth River, has lately been made, which saves a circuit of 
several miles. Hampton Roads lies on the n. border of the county. 
Pop. in 1840, whites 11,280, slaves 7,845, free colored 1,967 ; total, 
21,092. 

Norfolk borough is situated 106 miles from Richmond, 230 from 
Washington city, and 8 miles above Hampton Roads, on the n. 
bank of Elizabeth River, near the junction of its southern and east- 
ern branches. It was first established by law as a town in Octo- 
ber, 1705, in the 4th year of the reign of Queen Anne ; at which 
time its favorable situation for trade had gathered a considerable 
population. 

In the Westover mss.. Col. Byrd, in the History of the Dividing 
Line between Virginia and North Carolina, thus describes Norfolk 
in 1728: 

Norfolk has most the air of a town of any in Virginia. There were then near 20 
brigantines and sloops riding at the wharves, and oftentimes they have more. It has all 
the advantages of situation requisite for trade and navigation. . . The town is so near the 
sea that its vessels may sail in and out in a few hours. Their trade is chiefly to the 
West Indies, whither they export abundance of beef, pork, flour, and lumber. The worst 
of it is, they contribute much towards debauching the country by importing abundance 
of rum, which, like gin in Great Britain, breaks the constitutions, vitiates the morals, 
and ruins the industry of most of the poor people of this country. This place is the mart 
for most of the commodities produced in the adjacent parts of North Carolina. They 
have a pretty deal of lumber from the borderers on the Dismal, who make bold with the 
king's land thereabouts, without the least ceremony. They not only maintain their 
stocks upon it, but get boards, shingles, and other lumber out of it in great abundance. 

The town is built on a level spot of ground upon Elizabeth River, the banks whereof 
are neither so high as to make the landing of goods troublesome, nor so low as to be in 
danger of overflowing. The streets are straight, and adorned with several good houses, 
which increase every day. It is not a town of ordinaries and public houses, like most 
others in tfiis country, but the inhabitants consist of merchants, ship-carpenters, and 
other useful artisans, with sailors enough to manage their navigation. With all these 
conveniences, it lies under the two great disadvantages that most of the towns in Hol- 
land do, by having neither good air nor good water. The two cardinal virtues that 
make a place thrive, industry and frugality, are seen here in perfection ; and so long as 
they can banish luxury and idleness, the town will remain in a happy and flourishing 
condition. 

The method of building wharves here is after the following manner. They lay down 
long pine logs, that reach from the shore to the edge of the channel. These are bound 
fast together by cross pieces notched into them, according to the architecture of the log- 

50 



394 NORFOLK COUNTY. 

houses in North Carolina. A wharf built thus will stand several years, in spite of the 
worm, which bites here very much, but may be soon repaired in a place where so many 
pines grow in the neighborhood. 

Norfolk was formed into a borough* Sept. 15th, 1736, by royal 
charter from George 11. Samuel Boush, one of the principal land- 
holders, was made mayorf until a vacancy occurred either by his 
death or resignation. Sir John Randolph was appointed recorder, 
and the following gentlemen aldermen — George Newton, Samuel 
Boush, Jr., John Hutchins, Robert Tucker, John Taylor, Samuel 
Smith, Jr., James Ivey, and Alexander Campbell. 

Ten years after, the inhabitants of the borough evinced their 
loyalty in their rejoic?.igs at the defeat of the Pretender at the 
battle of Culloden, fought April 6th, 1746 ; an account of which 
is preserved in the Virginia Gazette, published at Williamsburg, 
and copied below : 

Williamsburg; July 31. — We have very credible information from the borough of Norfolk, that on the 
23d inst. they made extraordinary rejoicings there upon the good news of the defeat of the rebels by His 
Royal Highness, the Duke of Cumberland. The account we have of it is as follows :. 

The effigy of the Pretender, in the full proportion of a man, in a Highland dress resembling that which 
he appeared in, by the account given by a person in town who saw him a few months ago, was placed 
in a two-armed chair, and the following cavalcade marshalled, viz : 

1st. Three drummers. 

2d. A piper. 

3d. Three violins. 

4th. Six men with long white rods, with slips of paper like sashes over their shoulders, and different 
mottoes wrote on them in capital letters, as Liberty, Property, and No Pretender, No Wooden Shoes, &c. 

5th. A man in woman's clothes, dressed like a nurse, carrying a warming-pan with a child peeping out 
of it. 

6th. The Pretender in a two-armed chair, drawn in a cart. 

7th. Six men, two and two, with drawn cutlasses. 

Lastly. A vast crowd of people of the town and country, who thus marched in procession through all 
the streets till they came (about one o'clock) to the centre of the three main streets, where a gibbet being 
erected for the purpose, the cart was drawn under it, and his Protectorship was immediately exalted to 
the general view and satisfaction of the spectators. Liquor was provided for the better sort, and the 
populace had great plenty in casks standing with one head out. 

On drinking the health of His Majesty, King George II., a royal salute was made of 21 guns, planted 
in two different places, which was answered by a number of others from vessels in the harbor. Then 
followed other loyal healths, as the Royal Family, His Royal Highness the Duke, the Governor, Virginia, 
success to His Majesty's arms, &c., each health being proclaimed by the guns at the two different parts 
of the town, and vessels in the harbor. Thus the gentlemen continued at the court-house till the even- 
ing, when tlie windows all over town were beautifully illuminated. Then a large bonfire was kindled 
around the gibbet, and in a few minutes the effigy dropped into the flames. Then there was another 
royal salute, accompanied with loud huzzas and acclamations of joy. To conclude, that the ladies 
might also partake of the rejoicings on this extraordinary occasion, the gentlemen entertained them with 
a ball, and the evening concluded with innocent mirth and unaffected joy, becoming a people loyal to 
their king, and zealous for their country's good. 

The harbor of Norfolk admits vessels of the largest size, and is 
equal to any in the country. It may be considered the great naval 
depot of the Union ; and the borough, together with Portsmouth, 
is the residence of a greater number of naval officers than any 
other port in the country. There are, generally, several vessels 
of war lying at anchor in her harbor, beside those at the Navy 
Yard. 

Previous to the late war, Norfolk monopolized almost all the 
trade with the British West Indies, which was a source of much 
profit. From that period, excepting the years 1816, '17, and '18, 
during which the restriction was removed, her commerce was in a 

* Norfolk became a city by act of the legislature, April 24th, 1845. 

t There is in the possession of a gentleman at Norfolk a silver mace, weighing several 
pounds, presented to the corporation by Sir John Randolph. It was carried before the 
Mayor on going to court, and in public processions. 



NORFOLK COUNTY. 



395 



languishing condition until the completion of the Dismal Swamp 
Canal. Its facilities for trade have been greatly increased by the 
completion of this work and the Portsmouth and Roanoke Rail- 
road. It enjoys considerable foreign commerce, chiefly in corn, 
lumber, cotton, and naval stores. The plan of the town is some- 




St. Paul's Church, Norfolk. 

what irregular. Most of the streets are wide and well built, with 
handsome brick and stone buildings. The surface of the town is 
an almost dead level, and the private residences of many of its 
inhabitants, away from the business streets, are very neat, and have 
annexed spacious gardens adorned with shrubbery. 

An erroneous impression has prevailed abroad that Norfolk is 
unhealthy : yet the stranger having this idea cannot but be sur- 
prised at the unusual number of fine, rosy-cheeked, healthy-look- 
ing children whom he meets in the streets. " The deaths in Nor- 
folk for the year ending May 31st, 1844, as reported by the health- 
officer, amounted to 209, in a population of 11,000, or 1| per cent. 
— a pretty favorable indication of the salubrity of the position. The 
deaths in London are 3 per cent, of the population ; in Philadel- 
phia 2i per cent. In both of these cities are masses of poor, des- 
titute, vicious, and worked-to-death people, which necessarily ac- 
counts for their greater mortality. In Norfolk, however, there is 
a large slave population, yet the same rule does not apply." 

The principal public buildings are a custom-house, court-house, 
jail, a marine hospital, almshouse, academy, masons' lodge, 2 
Episcopal, 1 Methodist, 1 Catholic, 1 Baptist, and 1 Presbyterian 
church, beside 2 churches for colored people. There is a theatre, 
1 Lancasterian, and about 40 other schools, an orphan asylum, 4 
banks — the Exchange Bank of Virginia, Virginia Bank, Farmers' 
Bank of Va., and a Savings' Bank — and a population of about 
12,000. It has more foreign commerce than any other place in 
the state. The tonnage in 1840 was 19,079. There were then, 
by the U. S. statistics, 8 foreign commercial and 8 commission 
houses, cap. #202,000 ; 35 retail stores, cap. $1,590,500 ; cap. in 



396 NORFOLK COUNTY. 

manufactures, $178,300. Population in 1775, about 6,000 ; 1810, 
9,193; 1820, 9,478; 1830, 9,816; 1840, 10,920, of whom about 
one-half were blacks. 

The most beautiful building in the town is the Norfolk academy, 
which is an elegant structure after the temple of Theseus, stand- 
ing on a spacious green. 

It is an academy of the highest class, under the charge of a principal and three as- 
sistant professors. The principal, W. F. Hopkins, A. M., was formerly professor of 
chemistry at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. Under his charge it is very 
flourishing. The pupils, for the purpose of exercise, are formed into a military corps. 
Annexed to this institution is a preparatory department. St. Paul's church is the oldest 
building in Norfolk. It was erected in 1739. When the town was burnt by the British 
in the revolution, it was almost the only building that escaped destruction. The enemy 
robbed the church, and carried the baptismal font, which was of marble, to Scotland. 
Upon the end of the church there is still to be seen on the stone-work, the marks of a 
cannon-ball fired from the enemy's shipping. The grave-yard, which was used as early 
as 1700, contains many monuments. 

In the environs of the town, a beautiful cemetery, containing several acres, has been 
laid out by the corporation. It is surrounded by a high, white wall, and is tastefully 
planted with evergreens. Annexed are inscriptions from some of the monuments : — 

Here rest the remains of Capt. Angus Martin, who died Sept. 18th, 1838, aged 75 years. He was a 
native of Argyleshire, Scotland. Bred to the sea, he was, at the early ajie of 18, Intrusted with the com- 
mand of a ship belonging to the port of Greenock ; and crossed the Atlantic one hundred times in his 
lifetime, as a mariner, &c. &c. 

Sacred to the memory of Robert Monroe Harrison, late a midshipman in the navy of the U. S., and son 
of Robert M. Harrison, for many years consul for the U. S. at various places, and now filling that station 
at St. Bartholomews. He was" born on the 27th of Dec, 1811, and by the upsetting of one of the U. S. 
cutters in this harbor, was drowned, together with his friends and messmates, Mids. J. S. Slidell and 
Frederick Rodgers, on the 5th April, 18'38. He was distinguished for his amiable disposition, for the re- 
markable sprightlinessof his genius, and for variotis and extensive acquirements, which would have done 
honor to a riper age. As an officer he was conspicuous for his zeal and devotion to his duties ; as a gen- 
tleman for his accomplished, frank, and manly deportment. His end was marked by the same firmness 
and magnanimity which had characterized his life, resigning himself to a fate which was inevitable. He 
declined the proifer«d aid of his generous comrades, and exhorted them to use their exertions, which, 
alas ! were unavailing, to save themselves. Thus, in the morning of life, was this brilliant youth cut off 
in a career full of promise to his country, and of hope and consolation to his parents. His remains and 
those of his friend, Mid. Slidell, were followed to the grave by one of the largest and most respectable pro- 
cessions of our fellow-citizens ever known, and under circumstances most solemn and alfecting, interred 
with military honors, on the 13th April, 1828. 

Norfolk and its vicinity was the scene of some important military 
events in the war of the revolution. The British fleet, to which 
Lord Dunmore had fled at the outbreak of hostilities, made Nor- 
folk harbor its principal rendezvous. 

In October, 1775, "a British officer (says Girardin) with 12 or 13 soldiers, and a few 
sailors, landed at the county wharf in Norfolk, and, under cover of the men-of-war, 
who made every show of firing upon the town in case the party were molested, marched 
up the main street to Holt's printing-office, from whence, without opposition or resist- 
ance, they carried off the types, with other printing materials, and two of the workmen. 
The corporation of Norfolk remonstrated with Dunmore on this outrage ; stated their 
ability to have cut off this small party, had they been so disposed ; and requested the 
immediate return of the persons and property illegally seized. Dunmore's answer was 
taunting and insulting in the highest degree. He said that he could not have rendered 
the people of Norfolk a greater service, than by depriving them of the means of having 
their minds |)07So??<'rf, and of exciting in them 'the spirit of rebellion and sedition;' 
that their not having cut off the small party who took Holt's types, he imputed to other 
reasons than their peaceable intentions, as their drums were beating to arms without 
success the greater part of the time that the party were on shore. He gave them no 
satisfaction on the subject of restoring the persons and property seized and carried off. 
Holt, the printer, was not silent on the occasion. He published in the Williamsburg 
papers an eloquent philippic against Dunmore, and a patriotic advertisement, stating liis 
intention to establish a new press, to be conducted on the same principles as that which 
had been destroyed." 



NORFOLK COUNTY. 397 

The administration of Virginia directed all their attention upon this part of the state, 
where they perceived the danger most formidable. Dunmore, alarmed at their prepara- 
tions, constructed batteries and intrenchments at Norfolk, armed the blacks and tories, 
and forced the country people to drive their cattle and convey provisions to the town. 
The government of Va. dispatched, with all speed, a detachment of minute-men, under 
the command of Col. Woodford, into the county. 

" Dunmore, apprized (says Botta) of this movement, very prudently occupied a strong 
position upon the north bank of Elizabeth River, called Great Bridge, a few miles from 
Norfolk. This point was situated upon the direct route of the provincial troops. Here 
he threw up works upon the Norfolk side, and furnished them with a numerous artillery. 
The intrenchments were surrounded on every part with water and marshes, and were 
only accessible by a long dike. As to the forces of the governor, they were little for- 
midable : he had only 200 regulars, and a corps of Norfolk volunteers ; the residue con- 
sisted in a shapeless mass of varlets of every color. The Virginians took post over 
against the English, in a small village at a cannon-shot distance. Before them they had 
a long narrow dike, the extremity of which they also fortified. In this state the two 
parties remained for several days without making any movement." 

An ingenious stratagem precipitated the operations. A servant of Major Marshall's, 
(father of the chief-justice,) being properly instructed, deserted to Dunmore, and re- 
ported that there were not at the bridge more than 300 shirt-men, as the Virginians, 
who mostly wore hunting-shirts, were contemptuously called. Believing the story, Dun- 
more dispatched about 200 regulars, and 300 blacks and tories, to the Great Bridge ; who 
arrived there on the morning of the 9th of December, 1775, and just as the reveille had 
done beating, made an attack upon the Virginians. They were signally defeated, and 
lost 102 in killed and wounded. The annexed particulars of this action, called the 
" Battle of the Great Bridge," were published five days after, in the Virginia Gazette : 

The Great Bridge is built over what is called the southern branch of Elizabeth River, 12 miles above 
Norfolk. The land on each side is marshy to a considerable distance from the river, except at the two 
extremities of the bridge, where are two pieces of firm land, which may not improperly be called islands, 
being entirely surrounded by water and marsh, and joined to the main land by causeways. On the little 
piece of firm ground on the further or Norfolk side. Lord Dunmore had erected his fort, in such a manner 
that his cannon commanded the causeway on his own side, and the bridges between him and us, with 
the marshes around him. The island on this side of the river contained six or seven houses, some of 
which were burnt down (those nearest the bridge) by the enemy after the arrival of our troops ; in the 
others, adjoining the causeway on each side, were stationed a guard every night by Col. Woodford, but 
withdrawn before day, that they might not be exposed to the fire of the enemy's fort in recrossing the 
causeway to our camp, this causeway also being commanded by their cannon. 

The causeway on our side, in length was about 160 yards, and on the hither exti'emity our breastwork 
was thrown up. From the breastwork ran a street gradually ascending, about the length of 400 yards, 
to a church where our main body was encamped. The great trade to Norfolk in shingles, tar, pitch, and 
turpentine, from the country back of this, had occasioned so many houses to be built here, whence the 
articles were conveyed to Norfolk by water. But this by the by. Such is the nature of the place as 
described to me, and such was our situation, and that of the enemy. 

On Saturday the 9th inst., after reveille beating, two or three great guns and some musketry were dis- 
charged by the enemy, which, as it was not an unusual thing, was but little regarded by Col. Woodford. 
However, soon after he heard a call to the soldiers to stand by their arms, upon which, with all expedi- 
tion, he made the proper dispositions to receive them. In the mean time, the enemy had crossed the 
bridge, fired the remaining houses upon the island, and some large piles of shingles, and attacked our 
guard in the breastwork. Our men returned the fire, and threw them into some confusion ; but they 
were instantly rallied by Capt. Fordyce, and advanced along the causeway with great resolution, keeping 
up a constant and heavy fire as they approached. Two field-pieces, which had been brought across the 
bridge and placed on the edge of the island, facing the left of our breastwork, played briskly at the same 
time upon us. Lieut. Travis, who commanded in the breastwork, ordered his men to reserve their fire 
until the enemy came within fifty yards, and then they gave it to them with terrible execution. The brave 
Fordyce exerted himself to keep up their spirits, reminded them of their ancient glory, and, waving his 
hat over his head encouragingly, told them the day was their own. Thus pressing forward, he fell within 
fifteen steps of the breastwork. His wounds were many, and his death would have been that of a hero 
had he met it in a better cause. The progress of the enemy was now at an end, and they retreated over 
the causeway with precipitation, and were dreadfully galled in their rear. 

Hitherto, on our side only the guard, consisting of twenty-five, and some others, in the whole not 
amounting to more than ninety, had been engaged. Only the regulars of the 14th regiment, in number 
120, had advanced upon the causeway ; and about 230 negroes and tories had, after crossing the bridge, 
continued upon the island. The regulars, after retreating along the causeway, were again rallied by 
Capt. Leslie, and the two field-pieces continued playing upon our men. It was at this time that Col. 
Woodford was advancing down the street to the breastwork with the main body, and against him was 
now directed the whole fire of the enemy. Never were cannon better served ; yet in the face of them 
and the musketry, which kept up a continual blaze, our men marched on with the utmost intrepidity. 
Col. Stevens, of the Culpeper battalion, was sent roiind to the left to flank the enemy, which was done 
with so much spirit and activity that a rout immediately ensued. The enemy fled into their fort, leaving 
behind them the two field-pieces, which, however, they took care to spike up with nails. 

Many were killed and wounded in the flight; but Col. Woodford very prudently restrained his troops 
from pursuing the enemy too far. From the beginning of the attack, till the repulse at the breastwork, 
might be 14 or 15 minutes ; till the total defeat, upwards of half an hour. It is said that some of the 
enemy preferred death to captivity, firom fear of being scalped, which Lord Dunmore cruelly told them 



398 NORFOLK COUNTY. 

would be their fate should they be taken alive. Thirty-one killed and wounded fell into our hands, and 
the number borne off was much greater. Through the whole engagement every officer and soldier be- 
haved with the greatest calmness and courage. The conduct of our sentinels I cannot pass over in 
silence. Before they quitted their stations, they fired at least three rounds as the enemy were crossing 
the bridge, and one of them, posted behind some shingles, kept his ground until he had fired eight times, 
and, after he had received the fire of a whole platoon, made his escape across the causeway to our 
breastwork. The scene was closed with as much humanity as it was conducted with bravery. The 
work of death being over, every one's attention was directed to the succor of the unhappy sufferers ; and 
it is an undoubted fact, that Capt. Leslie was so affected with the tenderness of our troops to those capa- 
ble of assistance, that he gave signs from the fort, of his thankfulness. What is not paralleled in history, 
and will scarcely be credible, except to such as acknowledge a Providence over human affairs, this vic- 
tory was gained at the expense of no more than a slight wound In a soldier's hand ; and one circum- 
stance which rendered it still more amazing is, that the field-pieces raked the whole length of the street, 
and absolutely threw double-headed shot as far as the church, and afterwards, as our troops approached, 
cannonaded them heavily with grape-shot. 

An article in a succeeding paper says : " A correspondent on whose information we may depend, in- 
forms us that our soldiers showed the greatest humanity and tenderness to the wounded prisoners. Sev- 
eral of them ran through a hot fire to lift up and bring in some that were bleeding, and who they feared 
would die if not speedily assisted by the surgeon. The prisoners expected to be scalped, and cried out, 
' For God's sake, do not murder us.' One of them, unable to walk, cried out in this manner to one of our 
men, and was answered by him, ' Put your arm around my neck, and 1 will show you what I intend to 
do.' Then taking him with his arm over his neck, he walked slowly along, bearing him along with 
great tenderness, to the breastwork. Capt. Leslie, seeing two of our soldiers tenderly removing a wound- 
ed regular from the bridge, stepped upon the platform of the fort, and bowing with great respect, thanked 
them for their kindness. These are instances of a noble disposition of soul. Men who can act thus, 
must be invincible. 

Tlie repulse of the British at Great Bridge, determined the Virginians to march to 
Norfolk, " the strong-hold of ministerial power, and the focus of hostile enterprise ; and 
a numerous party under Col. Stevens was immediately detached to Kemp's Landing, 
with orders to secure, in the neighborhood of that place, every persoii known to have 
left Norfolk since the battle of the Great Bridge. 

" Among the individuals arrested in consequence of these orders, one William Calvert 
reported that he was present when Dunmore received the news of the defeat. His lord- 
ship, frantic with rage, swore, in his impotent ravings, that he would hang the boy who 
brought the information. The intrenchments at Norfolk were hastily abandoned, more 
than 20 pieces of cannon spiked and dismantled, and the fleet resorted to by the late 
governor and many of the disaffected, with their families and the most portable and 
valuable of their effects, as the only asylum against the impending vengeance of the 
patriots. Nothing but trepidation, shame, and despair, was now to be seen among those 
rash and infatuated boasters who lately hurled defiance and insult in the face of the 
Virginians — who, with ferocious joy and presumptuous confidence, spoke of easy triumphs 
over them — considered their noble enthusiasm as a momentary effervescence of popular 
phrensy — denied their courage, as well as their ability to resist ministerial omnipotence — 
and in their dreams of ideal conquest, dealt around confiscation, proscription, and death." 

In consequence of a pacific declaration, issued by Col. Woodford to the inha'bitants 
of Princess Anne and Norfolk counties, many of the inhabitants resorted to his camp. 
To those who had joined the enemy through fear alone, all reasonable indulgence 
was extended ; while upon others a vigilant eye was kept. Those taken in arms were 
each coupled with handcuffs to one of his black fellow-soldiers, as a stigma, and placed 
in confinement. On the night of the 14th, five days after the battle of Great Bridge, 
the Virginians entered Norfolk, and the succeeding morning Col. Howe assumed the 
command. 

" Although the greater part of the loyalists of Norfolk and its environs had sought refuge in the 
governor's fleet, there had, nevertheless, remained a considerable number of them ; either on account of 
their reluctance to leave their properties, or their dread of the sea and of famine, or perhaps because they 
hoped to find more lenity on the part of tlieir fellow-citizens who made profession of liberty, than they 
had shown towards them when they had been superior in this country. 

" But it is certain that the patriots, on acquiring the ascendency, made them feel it cruelly, and over- 
whelmed them with all those vexations of which there are so many examples in civil wars, between 
men of different parties. The governor, transported with rage, and touched by the piteous cries of the 
loyalists, panted to avenge them. This reciprocal hatred was daily exasperated by the rencontres which 
took place very frequently between the two parties ; the provincials watching at all points of the shore 
to prevent the royal troops from landing, in order to forage in the country, and the latter, on the contrary, 
eagerly spying every means to plunder provisions upon the American territory. The multitude of mouths 
to be fed, kept them constantly in a famishing state. A ship of war arrived in the mean time, in the 
bay of Norfolk. Lord Dunmore sent a flag on shore to apprize the inhabitants that they must furnish 
provisions, and cease firing, otherwise he should bombard the town. The provincials answered only by 
a refusal. The governor then resolved to drive them out of the city with artillery, and to burn the 
houses situated upon the river. He sent in the morning to give notice of his design, in order that the 
women, children, and all except combatants might retreat to a place of safety." 

On the first of January, 1776, " between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, a heavy cannonade 
from tlie frigate Liverpool, two sloops of war, and the ship Dunmore, opened against the town. Under 
cover of the guns, several parties of marines and sailors were landed, and set fire to the houses on the 
wharves. As the wind blew from the water, and the buildings were chiefly of wood, the flames rapidly 



NORFOLK COUNTY. 399 

spread. The efforts of the American commanders and their men to stop the progress and ravages of the 
fire, proved ineffectual. The conflagration raged for nearly three days, and consumed about nine-tenths 
of the town. Scarcely can even the strongest imagination picture to itself the distress of the wretched 
inhabitants, most of whom, friends nr foes, saw their homes, their property, their all, an indiscriminate 
prey to the irrepressible fury of the flames. The horrors of the conflagration were heiglitened by the 
thunder of cannon from the ships, and musketry of the hostile parties that encountered each other in 
sharp conflict near the shore, and on the smoking ruins of the devoted town. In these encounters, the 
British were uniformly repulsed, and driven back to their boats with shame and loss. Of the Americans, 
by a singular good fortune, none were killed, and only 5 or 6 men wounded, one of whom mortally. 
Some women and children were, however, reported to have lost their lives. In this affair, the intrepid 
Stevens still added to his fame. At the head of his hardy, indefatigable, and irresistible band, he rushed 
with the rapidity of lightning to the water-side, struck a large party of British, who had just landed there, 
and aompelled them to retire, with slaughter and in dismay, to the protection of their wooden walls. In 
general, during the whole of this afflicting scene, both officers and men evinced a spirit worthy of 
veterans. 

- " Sucli was the melancholy event which laid prostrate the most flourishing and richest town in the 
colony. Its happy site, combining all those natural advantages which invite and promote navigation and 
commerce, had been actively seconded by the industry and enterprise of the inhabitants. Before the 
existing troubles, an influx of wealth was rapidly pouring into its lap. In the two years from 1773 to 
1775, the rents of the houses increased from 8,000 to 10,000/. a year. Its population exceeded 6,000 citi- 
zens, many of whom possessed affluent fortunes. The whole actual loss, on this lamentable occasion, 
has been computed at more than three hundred thousand pounds sterling ; and the mass of distress at- 
tendant on the event is beyond all calculation." 

After the conflagration of Norfolk, occasional skirmishes took place between the Vir- 
ginians and the enemy, in which the latter suffered most severely. " On the 6th of 
February, Col. Robert Howe, who was now commander of the American troops, aban- 
doned Norfolk, or rather, the site on which Norfolk had stood ; for scarcely any vestige 
of that ill-fated town was now to be seen. After removing the inhabitants, the remain- 
ing edifices had been destroyed ; and the mournful silence of gloomy depopulation now 
reigned where the gay, animating bustle of an active emulous crowd had so lately pre- 
vailed." Howe stationed his trbops at Kemp's, at the Great Bridge, and Suffolk. To 
the latter place numbers of houseless and distressed fugitives from Norfolk had resorted ; 
humanity and hospitality had thrown open her doors, and every building was crowded 
with these unfortunate wanderers. 

The most energetic measures were resorted to by the committee 
of safety, to preclude the flotilla of Dunmore from obtaining sup- 
plies along the banks of those waters which their presence still 
infested. By these measures they were compelled to abandon 
their intrenchments, and after burning the barracks they had 
erected near the ruins of Norfolk, to seek a refuge on board their 
vessels, where much suffering awaited them. In the latter part 
of May they were seen manoBuvring in Hampton Road.s, and they 
finally landed and intrenched themselves at Gwyn's island. The 
signal defeat that awaited them there, is detailed under the head 
of Mathews county. 

On the 9th of May, 1779, a British fleet from New York, conducted by Sir George 
Collier, anchored in Hampton Roads. The government of the state had erected Fort 
Nelson a short distance below Portsmouth, on the western bank of Elizabeth River, to 
secure Portsmouth, Norfolk, and the marine yard at Gosport, from insult. This work 
was garrisoned by about 150 men, under Major Thomas Matthews, who abandoned it 
and retreated to the Dismal Swamp. On the 11th, the British took possession of Ports- 
mouth, and detached troops ,to Norfolk, Gosport, and Suffolk. At the two first they 
destroyed abundance of naval and military stores, and the last they burnt. They 
also destroyed, besides much public and private property, upwards of a hundred vessels. 
They remained but a short time, and then re-embarked for New York. 

In October, 1780, Brig. Gen. Leslie, with about three thousand troops from New 
York, landed at Portsmouth, and took possession of vessels and other property on the 
coast. He soon left the shores of the slate and sailed for Charleston, and shortly after 
joined Cornwallis. When Arnold invaded Virginia in January, 1781, the waters of 
Elizabeth River were again entered by the enemy. Portsmouth was for a time the 
head-quarters of the traitor. Cornwallis was also at Portsmouth just previous to taking: 
post at Yorktown. 

Portsmouth, the seat of justice for Norfolk county, is on the left 
bank of Elizabeth River, immediately opposite Norfolk, with which 



400 



NORFOLK COUNTY. 



there is a constant communication by a ferry, distant three quar- 
ters of a mile. The town was established in February, 1752, on 
the land of William Crawford. Like Norfolk, and several of the 
large towns of eastern Virginia, many of its early settlers were 
Scotch and Irish, principally engaged in mercantile pursuits. In 
common with Norfolk, it possesses one of the best harbors in the 




View in the Harbor of Portsmouth. 

Union, in which vessels of war are generally lying at anchor, and 
vessels of the largest size come to its wharves. A short distance 
below the town is the U. S. Naval Hospital, a large and showy 
building — shown on the right of the above view — built of brick, 
and stuccoed. On the opposite side of the river stand the ruins 
of Fort Norfolk ; it is on or near the site of Fort Nelson, built in 
the war of the revolution. 

The U. S. Navy Yard is directly on the southern extremity of 
Portsmouth, half a mile from the central part of the town, in that 
portion of it called Gosport, where the general government has 
built a large and costly dry dock, of the best materials and work- 
manship, capable of admitting the largest ships. The construc- 
tion of vessels at the navy-yard, at times employs as many as 
1,400 men ; and it is this source that proves one of the principal 
means of the support of the town. The Portsmouth and Roan- 
oke rail-road commences at this place, and with the connecting 
rail-roads forms a communication with Charleston, S. C. The 
Virginia Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy, established 
here in 1840, by Capt. Alden S. Partridge, numbers about forty 
pupils. Portsmouth contains a court-house, jail, 6 churches — 1 
Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal, 1 Catholic, 1 Baptist, 1 Methodist, and 



NORFOLK COUNTY. 



401 



1 do. for blacks — a branch of the Bank of Virginia, and a popula- 
tion of about 7,000. The town is beautifully laid off into squares, 
and its site is level. With Norfolk, it possesses an excellent 
fish-market. Shellfish, oysters, crabs, &c., abound. The Lynn 
Harbor oysters are highly esteemed by epicures. 




Navy Yard, Gosport. 

The village of Deep Creek is situated at the northern extremity 
of the Dismal Swamp canal, about 10 miles from Norfolk. It is a 
depot of the canal, and contains about 30 dwellings. Its com- 
mercial business is principally confined to a trade in large juniper 
or white cedar shingles, and other lumber from the Dismal Swamp, 
which gives constant employment to several schooners, plying to 
the northern cities. 

The celebrated stvamp called the " Dismal," lies partly in Virginia and partly in 
North Carolina ; it extends from north to south nearly 30 miles, and averages, from east 
to west, about 10 miles. Five navigable rivers and some creeks rise in it. The sources 
of all these streams are hidden in the swamp, and no traces of them appear above 
ground. From this it appears that there must be plentiful subterraneous fountains to 
supply these streams — or the soil must be filled perpetually with the Water drained from 
the higher lands which surround it. The latter hypothesis is most probable, because 
the soil of the swamp is a complete quagmire, trembling under the feet, and filling im- 
mediately the impression of every step with water. It may be penetrated to a great 
distance by thrusting down a stick, and whenever a fire is kindled upon it, after the layer 
of leaves and rubbish is burned through, the coals sink down, and are extinguished. 

The eastern skirts of the Dismal Swamp are overgrown with reeds, ten or twelve 
feet high, interlaced everywhere with thorny bamboo briers, which render it almost 
impossible to pass. Among these are found, here and there, a cypress, and White cedar, 
which last is commonly mistaken for the juniper. Towards the south there is a very 
large tract covered with reede, without any trees, which being constantly green, and 
waving in the wind, is called the green sea. An evergreen shrub, called the gail-bush, 
grows plentifully throughout, but especially on the borders ; it bears a berry which dyes 
a black color, like the gall of an oak — and hence its name. 

51 



402 NORFOLK COUNTY. 

Near the middle of the swamp, the trees grow much closer, both the cypress and 
cedar ; and being always green, and loaded with large tops, are much exposed to the 
wind, and easily blown down in this boggy place, where the soil is too soft to afford 
sufficient hold to the roots. From these causes the passage is nearly always obstructed 
by trees, which lay piled in heaps, and riding upon each other ; and the snags left in 
them pointing in every direction, render it very difficult to clamber over them. 

On the western border of the Dismal Swamp is a pine swamp, above a mile in 
breadth, the greater part of which is covered to the depth of the knee with water: the 
bottom, however, is firm, and though the pines growing upon it are very large and tall, 
yet they are not easily blown down by the wind ; so that this swamp may be passed 
without any hinderance, save that occasioned by the depth of the water. With all these 
disadvantages, the Dismal Swamp, though disagreeable to the other senses, is, in many 
places, pleasant to the eye, on account of the perpetual verdure, which makes every 
season like the spring, and every month like May. 

" Immense quantities of shingles and other juniper lumber are obtained from the 
swamp, and furnish employment for many negroes, who reside in little huts in its 
recesses. 

" Much of the lumber is brought out of the swamp, either through ditches cut for the 
purpose, in long narrow lighters, or are carted out by mules, on roads made of poles laid 
across the road so as to touch each other, forming a bridge or causeway. There are 
very many miles of such road. The laborers carry the shingles, &lc., to these roads 
from the trees, on their heads and shoulders. The Dismal Swamp Canal runs through 
it from north to south, and the Portsmouth and Roanoke Rail-road passes for five miles 
across its northern part. 

" It looks like a grand avenue, surrounded on either hand by magnificent forests. 
The trees here, the cypress, juniper, oak, pine, &c., are of enormous size, and richest 
foliage ; and below is a thick entangled undergrowth of reeds, woodbine, grape-vines, 
mosses, and creepers, shooting and twisted spirally around, interlaced and complicated, 
so as almost to shut out the sun. 

" The engineer who had constructed the road through this extraordinary swamp, 
found it so formidable a labor as almost to despair of success. In running the line, his 
feet were pierced by the sharp stumps of cut reeds ; he was continually liable to sink 
ankle or knee deep into a soft muddy ooze ; the yellow flies and moschetoes swarmed 
in myriads ; and the swamp was inhabited by venomous serpents and beasts of prey. 

" The Dismal Swamp was once a favorite hunting-ground of the Indians ; arrow- 
heads, some knives, and hatchets, are yet found there ; and it still abounds in deer, 
bears, wild turkeys, wild-cats, &c. The water of this swamp is generally impregnated 
with juniper, and is considered medicinal by the people of the surrounding country, 
who convey it some distance in barrels. This swamp is much more elevated than the 
surrounding country, and by means of the Dismal Swamp Canal, might be drained, 
and thus a vast body of most fertile soil reclaimed ; and the canal might be transformed 
into a rail-road — and the juniper soil, which is vegetable, might, perhaps, be used as 
peat. 

" Lake Drummond. — There is in the interior of the Dismal 
Swamp a body of water bearing this name, after the discoverer, 
who, says tradition, wandering in pursuit of game with two com- 
panions, was lost, and in his rambling came upon this lake. His 
comrades failed to thread their way out. Drummond returned, 
and gave an account of the sheet of water, which was accordingly 
called after him." 

This lake is much visited by parties from Norfolk and the adja- 
cent portions of North Carolina. There is here, exactly on the 
line of Virginia and North Carolina, a favorite public house, called 
" The Lake Drummond Hotel," which has become " the Gretna 
Green" of this region. The poet Moore, who was in this country 
in 1804, has made a superstition connected with this lake the 
subject of a well-known poetical eftusion, which we here extract : 



NORFOLK COUNTY. 



403 



A BALLAD. 

THE LAKE OF THE DISMAL SWAMP. 

Written at JVorfolk, in Virginia. 

They tell of a young man who lost his mind upon the death of a girl he loved ; and who suddenly 

disappearing from his friends, was never afterwards heard of. As he frequently said in his ravings that 

the girl was not dead, but gone to the Dismal Swamp, it is supposed that he had wandered into that 

dreary wilderness, and had died of hunger, or been lost in some of its dreadful morasses. — Anon. 

" La Po6sie a ses monstres conMie la nature." — D'AlemJtert. 



" They made her a grave, too cold and damp 

For a soul so warm and true ; 
And she 's gone to the lake of the Dismal Swamp, 
Where, all night long, by a tiretly lamp, 

She paddles her white canoe. 

" And her firefly lamp I soon shall see, 

And her paddle I soon shall hear ; 
Long and loving our life shall be. 
And I'll hide the maid in a cypress tree, 

When the footstep of death is near !" 

Away to the Dismal Swamp he speeds — 

His path was rugged and sore. 
Through tangled juniper, beds of reeds. 
Through many a fen, where the serpent feeds. 

And man never trod before ! 

And when on the earth he sunk to sleep, 

If slumber his eyelids knew, 
He lay where the deadly vine doth weep 
Its venomous tear, and nightly steep 

The flesh with blistering dew ! 



And near him the she-wolf stirr'd the brake, 

And the copper-snake breath'd in his ear, 
Till he starting cried, from his dream awake, 
" Oh ! when shall I see the dusky lake. 
And the white canoe of my dear 1" 

He saw the lake, and a meteor bright, 

Quick over its surface play'd — 
" Welcome !" he said ; " my dear one's light !' 
And the dim shore echoed for many a night, 

The name of the death-cold maid ! 

Till he hollowed a boat of the birchen bark, 
Which carried him olT from shore ; 

Far he follow'd the meteor spark. 

The wind was high and the clouds were dark. 
And the boat return'd no more. 

But oft from the Indian hunter's camp, 

This lover and maid so true. 
Are seen at the hour of midnight damp, 
To cross the lake by a firefly lamp, 

And paddle their white canoe ! 



On the 22d of June, 1813, a powerful British fleet made an at- 
tack on Craney Island, at the entrance to Elizabeth River. They 
were signally defeated. The event, as given below, is from Per- 
kins' Late War : 

Before the British could enter the harbor of Norfolk and approach the town, it was 
necessary to take possession of Craney Island. On the morning of the 22d, they were 
discovered passing round the point of Nanseniond River, and landing on the main land 
in a position where the passage was fordable, with a view to pass over and attack the 
works on the west side of the island, while at the same time a number of barges from 
the fleet attempted to land in front. These were attacked before they reached the shore, 
from a battery on the beach, manned by the sailors and marines from the Constellation 
and the gun-boats. Three of the barges were sunk, most of the men drowned, and the 
rest compelled to retreat to their shipping. The party which landed at Nansemond, 
were met and repulsed by the Virginia militia, and driven back to their ships, with the 
loss, including those in the barges, of upwards of two hundred in killed and wounded. 
The city of Norfolk, and the neighboring villages of Gosport and Portsmouth, owed their 
safety to this gallant defence of Craney Island. 

Richard Dale, a distinguished naval officer of the revolution, was born in this county 
in 1756. He early showed a predilection for the sea, and at the age of 12 made a voy- 
age to Liverpool, and continued in the merchant service until the breaking out of the 
revolution. In 1776 he was appointed lieutenant of an armed ship, which belonged to 
the infant navy of Virginia. While cruising in one of the boats of this vessel in the 
James, he was captured by a British tender and confined on board of a British prison- 
ship at Norfolk. He was at this time scarce 20 years of age, and having passed his 
youth on the ocean, can scarcely be supposed to have been familiar with the great prin- 
ciples of the revolution. An old schoolmate, named Gutteridge, who commanded a 
British tender, prevailed upon him to make a cruise with him up the Rappahannock. In 
an engagement with a fleet of pilot-boats, he was wounded in the head by a musket- 
ball. 

After his recovery he sailed for Bermuda, but the vessel he was in was captured by 
Commodore Barry; an explanation followed, and Dale, convinced of his error, re-entered 
the American service as a midshipman. Not long after he was again taken prisoner by 
the British, but was soon exchanged, and was appointed to the U. S. ship Lexington. 
This vessel being captured, Dale was the third time in the power of the enemy, who 
• threw him and his companions into the Mill Prison at Plymouth. Dale escaped with a 



404 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY. 

companion and travelled to London, when their progress was stopped by a press-gang. 
They were carried back to Mill Prison, and thrown into a noisome dungeon for forty 
days. Dale was then released and placed with the rest of the prisoners. He was again 
thrown into the Black Hole, for singing " rebellious songs." In 1779 this bold mariner 
escaped to France, and there making the acquaintance of the famous Capt. John Paul 
Jones, was appointed by him 1st lieutenant in the Bon Homme Richard. The" fleet of 
Jones cruised in the North Sea, and spread terror along the western coast of Scotland. 
In the almost unparalleled and desperate action between the Bon Homme Richard and 
the Serapis, Lieut. Dale distinguished himself and received a wound. Dale next served 
under Captain Nicholson, on board the Trumbull, which was soon captured, and he 
found himself for the fifth time a prisoner. Being exchanged, he was appointed captain 
of an armed merchantman, and sailed in her to the close of the war. In 1794, he was 
one of the six captains appointed from the merchant service to the U. S. navy. In 
1801 he commanded the Mediterranean squadron, which protected our commerce from 
the Barbary corsairs. Having returned to the United States in 1802, he was again ap- 
pointed to the Mediterranean station, but under circumstances which he conceived in- 
jurious to his honor to accept. Commodore Dale, therefore, retired from the navy. The 
decline of his life was as peaceful as his youth had been stirring and adventurous, and 
he died in 1886, aged 70 years. 



NORTHAMPTON. 

Northampton was originally called Accawmacke, and was one 
of the original 8 shires into which Virginia was divided in 1634. 
In March, 1642-3, its name was changed to Northampton ; and in 
1672 its limits were reduced by the formation of a new county, the 
present county of Accomac. Northampton is the southern ex 
tremity of the long low peninsula forming the eastern side of the 
Chesapeake, and comprehending eight counties in Maryland and 
two in Virginia. The shore has numerous small creeks, and nu- 
merous islands stretch along the Atlantic. Pop. in 1840, whites 
3,341, slaves 3,620, free colored 754 ; total, 7,71.5. 

Eastville, the county-seat, is 151 miles easterly from Richmond, 
in the centre of the county. It contains about 30 dwellings, and 
is a place of considerable business. Capeville, 6 miles n. of Cape 
Charles— the southern point of " the eastern shore" — contains a 
few houses. 

The subjoined description of " the eastern shore" in general, 
and of this county in particular, was published several years since : 

Separated as these counties are from the rest of the state by the spacious bay, which 
the eye can scarcely see across, and being among the first settled parts of the colony, 
they are a more unmixed people than is often to be found in our country, and retain 
more of the usages, and even language of former times, than perhaps any part of the 
state. The ancient hospitality of Virginia is here found unimpaired ; and the inhabit- 
ants have a high relish for good living, which they are also enabled to indulge by a soil 
and climate extremely favorable to gardening, and by an abundance of excellent fish, 
oysters, and crabs. They preserve great neatness in their houses and persons, which is 
a characteristic of persons living in a sandy country. The whole county is as level as 
a bowling-green, and the roads are good at all seasons of the year. This circumstance 
has probably increased the social character and habits of the people, as it certainly has 
their pleasure-carriages. The number of gigs in the county is near three hundred, which 
is considerably greater than that of the freeholders. It is computed that the county 
pays about ,$10,000 a year for its carriages. 

The soil of this countj is thin, light, and always more or less mixed with sand : but 
as it commonly rests on a stiff clay, and the land is too level to be carried off by the 



NORTHAMPTON COUNTV. 405 

rains, or " to wash," to use a term of the upper country, the inhabitants are very 
much encouraged to pursue an improving course of husbandry ; yet in truth they are 
but indifferent farmers. They cultivate the same land incessantly, one year in Indian 
corn, and the next in oats, (their two principal crops,) and their lands improve under 
this severe process, provided they are not also pastured. Whenever a field is not in 
cultivation, it puts up everywhere a rich luxuriant crop of a sort of wild vetch, called the 
magotty-bay bean, which shades the land while it is growing, and returns to it a rich 
coat of vegetable manure. It is by means of this fertilizing plant, and the aliment 
which is plentifully furnished by the vapors from the sea, that the product of these 
lands is so much greater than a stranger would be led to expect from the appearance 
of the soil. The land is so easily cultivated that there are few parts of the state in 
which more is produced to the man, or the horse, though more may be produced to the 
acre. On the best farms, a hundred barrels to the hand are often obtained. The fig 
and the pomegranate flourish without protection during the winter. The former attains 
the size of a stout tree, sometimes twenty feet high, and its delicious fruit is in greater 
abundance than the inhabitants can consume. They have not yet learned the art of 
curing it ; or perhaps the species they have is not suited to that operation. 

Wind-mills are in use here, but tide-mills, at the mouth of small inlets, are preferred 
when attainable. These inlets deeply indent the shore, both on the " bay and sea-side," 
and while they are convenient for fishing, shooting wild-fowls, and as harbors for their 
boats and small craft, they give a pleasing variety to the landscapes, which are, indeed, 
as pretty as is compatible with so unvarying a surface. Upon the whole, we know of 
no part of the state in which the comforts of life are enjoyed in greater number, or 
higher perfection. They have, too, the sea and land breezes of the West Indies, which 
temper the sultry heats of summer ; and their only annoyances seem to be a few mos- 
chetoes, a good many gnats, and now and then a bilious or intermittent fever. There is 
here an article of culture which is not much met with in other parts of the state — it is 
the palma christi, called castor bean. It now constitutes a part of almost every farmer's 
crop, to the extent of eight to ten acres or more. The quantity of the nut or bean pro- 
duced, is the same as the land would produce in corn. Each bushel yields about two 
gallons and a half of oil, and sells, at the press, for ^1 25 a bushel. This plant is now 
cultivated in many of the counties on the western shore, and the oil it affords has be- 
come a considerable article of export, being preferred to that of the West Indies. 

Among the curiosities of this county are the ancient records of the county from 1640, 
and a marble tomb, or sarcophagus, about five feet high, and as many long, from which 
we transcribe the following singular inscription : 

Under this marble tomb lies the body 

of the Hon. John Ciistis, Esq., 

of the City of Williamsburg, 

and Parish of Burton. 

Formerly of Hungar's parish, on the 

Eastern Shore 

of Virginia and county of Northampton, 

Aged 71 years, and yet lived but seven years, 

which was the space of time he kept 

A Bachelor's home at Arlington, 

on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. 



On the opposite side one reads — 

This inscription put on this tomb was by 
his own positive orders. 



Wm. Cosley Man, in Fenchurch-street, 
fecit, London.* 

The Hon. Abel Parker Upshur was the son of Littleton Upshur, and was born in 
this county, June 17th, 1790. " He received his classical education at Yale and Prince- 
ton colleges, and studied law under the instruction of his friend, the late Hon. Wm. Wirt, 
at Richmond, where he practised his profession from 1810 until 1824, when he removed 
to Vancluse, his patrimonial residence in this county. In the courts of the eastern 
shore, he continued the practice of his profession until Dec. 15th, 1826, when he was 
appointed by the legislature to fill the vacancy on the bench of the general court, caused 
by the death of his maternal uncle, the late Judge George Parker. He had previously 
represented his native county in the state legislature. On the 5th of Oct., 1829, he was 

* Alden, in his " Collection of Epitaphs," published in 1814, says the Hon. John Custis, a gentleman 
of great opulence, died about 1750, and that this monument was erected and inscribed agreeably to the 
directions in his will. G. W. P. Custis, Esq., of Arlington, D. C, is one of his descendants. — H. H. 



40G NOTTOWAY COUNTY. 

elected a member of the general convention of Virginia. He published a pamphlet 
containing a review of Judge Story's work on the constitution of the United States, and 
contributed many articles to the newspapers on the topics of the day. On the reorgani- 
zation of the judicial system of Virginia, under the new constitution, he was reappointed, 
April 18, 1831, to a seat on the bench of the general court, and was assigned to the 
third judicial circuit. This office he continued to fill until the I3th of Sept., 1841, when 
he was appointed by President Tyler, secretary of the navy. On the 24th of July, 1843, 
he was transferred, under the same administration, to the office of secretary of state, 
which he held until the time of his death, Feb. 28th, 1844, which was occasioned by 
the accident on board the U. S. steamer Princeton." 

The Southern Literary Messenger says, that the ancestors of Mr. Upshur settled upon 
the eastern shore more than two centuries since. His family is one of the oldest in Vir- 
ginia, and has been remarkable for staid habits and sterling worth. Generation after 
generation they remained upon the eastern shore, cultivating the soil, and ornamenting 
society. From the same source we learn that Mr. Upshur was considered one of the 
most graceful and accomplished orators. His style was unexceptionably good, his argu- 
ments forcible, and set forth in sentences remarkable for terse and vigorous language. 
His speech in the Virginia convention of '29 and '30, is said to have been one of the 
ablest and best delivered during the sitting. He never took a leading position in politics 
until called to the presidential cabinet. Mr. Upshur was an able writer, and one of the 
most polished contributors to the periodical literature of the country. 



NORTHUMBERLAND. 

Northumberland was formed in 1648. Its length is 30, mean 
width 12 miles. It is situated in the east part of the state, on 
Chesapeake Bay, and has the mouth of the Potomac River on its 
northeast boundary. It is drained by several small streams flow- 
ing into the Potomac and Wicomico Rivers, which empty into 
Chesapeake Bay. Beside the ordinary products of this portion of 
the state, about 50,000 pounds of sugar are annually produced. 
Pop., whites 4,034, slaves 3,243, free colored 647 ; total, 7,924. 

Northumberland C. H., or Heathsville, is 98 miles ne. of Rich- 
mond. It is a handsome village, situated near the head of Coan 
River, a navigable stream emptying into the Potomac. It contains 
a Methodist church, several mercantile and mechanical establish- 
ments, and about 60 dwellings. 



NOTTOWAY. 

Nottoway was formed in 1788, from Amelia, and named from 
the Nottoway tribe of Indians, from whom, also, the river running 
on its southern boundary received its name. It is drained by tribu- 
taries of the Appomattox and the Nottoway. Its length is 22, 
breadth 12 miles. Over two million pounds of tobacco are annu- 
ally produced in this county. Pop. in 1840, whites 2,490, slaves 
7,071, free colored 158 ; total, 9,719. 

Nottoway C. H., on the Little Nottoway, in the central part of 
the county, 67 miles sw. of Richmond, contains 15 or 20 dwellings. 
It was at Col. V- 's, in the northern part of this county, that the 



OHIO COUNTY. 407 

celebrated Peter Francisco had a battle with nine of Tarleton's 
cavalry in 1781 ; for an account of which see Buckingham. 



OHIO. 



Ohio was formed in 1776, from the district of West Augusta: it 
is 14 miles long, with a mean width of 10 miles. It is bounded 
westerly by the Ohio River, into which empty several creeks of 
the county. The surface is much broken, but the soil, especially 
on the water-courses, is very fertile. Over one million bushels of 
bituminous coal are annually mined in the county. Pop. in 1840, 
whites 12,842, slaves 212, free colored 303 ; total, 13,357. 

West Liberty is situated 12 miles ne. of Wheeling, and 5 from 
the Ohio River. It was established in Oct., 1787, and Moses Chap- 
laine, Zachariah Sprigg, George M'Cullock, Charles Wills, Van 
Swearingan, James Mitchell, and Benjamin Briggs, gentlemen, 
were appointed trustees for laying out the town, at which place 
the county buildings had been erected. It remained the county- 
seat until Brooke county was formed, in 1797, when the courts 
were removed to Wheeling. 

Wheeling City, the seat of justice for the county, is situated up- 
on an alluvial area on the Ohio River, on both sides of Wheeling 
creek, 351 miles from Richmond, 264 from Washington city, 56 
miles from Pittsburg, and 31 from Washington, Pa. The city is 
surrounded by bold hills, containing inexhaustible quantities of 
bituminous coal, from which the numerous manufactories of the 
town are supplied at a trifling expense. It is furnished with water 
from the Ohio by water- works. It contains a handsome court- 
house, a jail, county offices, 2 academies, 2 banks and a savings' 
institution, a fire and marine insurance company, and 1 Episco- 
pal, 1 Methodist, 1 Baptist, 1 Unionist, 1 German Methodist, 1 Lu- 
theran, and 2 Presbyterian churches, a Friends' meeting-house, 
and religious societies belonging to the Reformed Baptists or Dis- 
ciples, Swedenborgians, and Reformed Methodists ; 97 stores, 7 
commission and forwarding houses, 4 iron foundries, 4 steam-en- 
gine factories, 8 glass-houses, in several of which cut-glass is 
manufactured, 4 woollen and cotton factories, with carding ma- 
chines, 2 paper-mills, 4 saw-mills, 3 white and sheet-lead and cop- 
peras factories, 2 daily, 1 weekly, and 1 semi-monthly newspapers, 
together with many flouring mills in it and vicinity, and mechani-' 
cal and manufacturing establishments of a lesser note. 

A beautiful and substantial stone bridge crosses Wheeling creek. 
The city contains about 1000 dwellings ; over twenty steamboats 
are owned here, and all which navigate this portion of the Ohio 
stop at its wharves. The national road passes through Wheelings 
which is one of the greatest thoroughfares in the Union. Zane's 



408 



OHIO COUNTY. 



island lies on the Ohio, opposite the city, and is crossed by the 
national road. Wheeling is the largest town in western Virginia. 




Bridge over Wheeling Creek 

In 1810 its population was 914; in 1820, 1,567 ; 1830, 5,221 ; 1840, 
7,885. From the advantages of its location, &c.. Wheeling must 
eventually be a place of gi*eat business. The vast multitude of 
emigrants constantly passing through it to the far west, increase 
its trade, and impart to it an air of bustle and business peculiarly 
animating. 

In 1769, (says Withers,) Col. Ebenezer Zane, his brothers Silas and Jonathan, with 
some others from the south branch of the Potomac, visited the Ohio for the purpose of 
making improvements, and severally proceeded to select positions for their future resi- 
dence. They chose for their residence the site now occupied by the city of Wheeling,* 
and having made the requisite preparations returned to their former homes, and brought 
out their families the ensuing year. The Zanes were men of enterprise, tempered with 
prudence, and directed by sound judgment. To the bravery and good conduct of these 
three brothers, the Wheeling settlement was mainly indebted for its security and pre- 
servation during the war of the revolution. Soon after the settlement of this place, 
other settlements were made at different points, both above and below Wheeling, and 
the country on Buffalo, Short, and Grave creeks. 

* " A very intelligent merchant of this city describes, that in very early time, and doubtless much an- 
terior to that mentioned above, a circumstance took place which presents the strongest probability of the 
first notice of tliis spot by a white man, and the best data demonstrative of the circumstance from which 
the name of Wheeling was conferred upon this city. A European gentleman in the capacity of a Catho^ 
lie priest, direct from Europe, of the name of fVhedan, which was his orthography of the name, who on 
a missionary excursion through tlie United States, among the aborigines of this country, on des-cending 
the Ohio River, pitched his encampment at the mouth of the present well-known Wheeling creek, in or- 
der for the discharge of his missionary duties there, among the rod men of the forest. After a few months 
stay, he proceeded down the river, and left a name behind him, vVhich will distinguish this celebrated 
spot till time shall be no longer. The founders of the city changed its orthography, since whicli it is 
written Wheeling." — Sowcn's Directory of IV/icelivg- for 1839. 

It is stated in a communication to the American Pioneer by Mr. .Tno. White, that Wheeling was ori- 
ginally called WceUng, which signifies the ptecc of ahead. The following tradition, explanatory of thi.s, 
was obtained from JMr. John Brittle, who was taken prisoner by the Uelawares, lived with them five 
years, and acquired their language. " In the earliest period of the settlement of Pennsylvania, some 
white settlers descended the Ohio River in a boat, and stopping at the mouth of Wheeling creek, were 
killed by the Delawares. The savages cut off the head of one of their victims, and placing it on a pole, 
with the face towards the river, called the spot IVeeling. The Indians informed Mr. Brittle that the head 
was placed there to guard the river; I presume, to guard the camp from the incursions of the whites 
Mr. Brittle said, that if an Indian were asked, after shooting a deer or a bear, where he had hit tlie anV- 
liial, I s answer — if in the head — would be, 'weelivg.' " 



OHIO couNTv. 409 

A traveller in this region in 1802, thus describes Wheeling as it 
was then : — 

Wheeling, situated on one of the high banks of the Ohio, was not in existence 12 
years ago. At present it contains about 70 houses, built of planks, which, as in all the 
rising- towns of the United States, are separated by an interval of several tolses. This 
little town is confined by a long hill, from a hundred and eighty to two hundred toises) 
;n height, the base of which is not further from the river than two hundred toises. In 
this interval the houses are built; they form only one street, having one road in the mid* 
die. * « « Here are 12 or 15 well-provided stores, from which the inhabitants for 
20 miles round are supplied. This small town also participates in the exportation trade 
carried on between Pittsburg and the western country. Several of the traders of Phil- 
adelphia prefer sending their merchandise here, although it is a day's journey further ; 
but this slight inconvenience is amply compensated by the advantage they derive, in 
avoiding the long circuit made by the Ohio on quitting Pittsburg, in which the Very nu- 
merous shallows and the want of rapidity in the current during the summer, retard the 
navigation. 

At Wheeling we lodged with Capt. Reymer, who keeps a tavern at the sign of the 
Wagon, and takes boarders for two piasters [$2] a week. The living is very good at 
his house for this money, for provisions are not dear here. Twelve fowls are sold for a 
piaster, [^1,J and a quintal [100 Weight] of flour was not Worth more than a piaster and 
a half. 

The most important event in the history of Wheeling, was the 
siege of Fort Henry, at the mouth of Wheeling creek, in Septem- 
ber, 1777. The bravery and perseverance of the little band who 
defended it against more than thirty times their number of savages, 
led on by the notorious Simon Girty, was such as to rank it among 
the most memorable events of border warfare. An account of this 
siege we abridge from the communication of Mr. George S. M. 
Kiernan, in the American Pioneer: — 

Fort Henry stood immediately on the left bank of the Ohio, about a quarter* of a mile 
above Wheeling creek. It is said to have been planned by Gen. George Rogers Clarke, 
and was constructed under the superintendence of Ebenezer Zane and John Caldwell. 
It was originally called Fort Fincastle, and was a place of refuge for the settlers in 
Dunmore's war. The name was afterwards changed to Fort Henry, in honor of Patrick 
Henry. The fort was built on open ground, and covered a space of about three-quarters 
of an acre. It was a parallelogram, having a block-house at each corner, with lines of 
stout pickets, about eight feet high, extending from one block-house to another. Within 
the enclosure were a storehouse, barrack-rooms, garrison-well, and a number of cabins 
for the use of families. The principal entrance was through a gateway on the eastern 
side of the fort, next to the then straggling village of Wheeling, consisting of about 25 
log-houses. 

The savages, variously estimated at from 380 to 500 warriors, having been abund* 
antly supplied with arms and provisions by the British governor, Hamilton, at Detroit, 
and led on by Girty, were brought before the walls of Fort Henry before Col. Shepherd, 
the commandant, knew of their real design. Some symptoms of their propinquity hav- 
ing been discovered, the settlers in the vicinity had, the night previous, sought shelter 
within the fort. 

The garrison numbered only 42 fighting men, all told, counting those advanced in 
years as well as those who were mere boys. A portion of them were skilled in Indian 
warfare, and all were excellent marksmen. The storehouse was amply supplied with 
muskets, but was sadly deficient in ammunition. 

The next morning Col. Shepherd dispatched a man, accompanied by a negro, on an 
errand a short distance from the fort. The white man was brought to the ground by a 
blow from the firelock of an Indian ; but the negro escaped back into the fort, and gave 
intelligence that they had been waylaid by a party of Indians in a cornfield. 

As soon as the negro related his story, the colonel dispatched Captain Samuel 
Mason, with fourteen men, to diModge the Indians from the field. Captain Mason with 
his party marched through the field, and arrived almost on the bank of the creek with- 
out findmg the Indians, and had already commenced a retrograde movement when he 
was suddenly and furiously assailed in front, flank, and rear, by the whole of Girty's 

52 



410 OHIO COUNTV. 

army. The captain rallied his men from the confusion produced by this unexpected 
demonstration of the enemy, and instantly comprehending the situation in which he was 
placed, gallantly took the lead, and hewed a passage through the savage phalanx that 
opposed him. In this desperate conflict more than half the little band were slain, and 
their leader severely wounded. Intent on retreating back to the fort. Mason pressed 
rapidly on with the remnant of his command, the Indians following closely in pursuit. 
One by one these devoted soldiers fell at the crack of the enemy's rifle. An Indian 
who eagerly pursued Captain Mason, at length overtook him ; and to make sure his 
prey, fired at him from the distance of five paces ; but the shot, although it took effect, 
did not disable tlie captain, who immediately turned about, and hurling his gun at the 
head of his pursuer, felled him to the earth. The fearlessness with which this act was 
performed caused an involuntary disj)ersion of the gang of Indians who led the pursuit ; 
and Mason, whose extreme exhaustion of physical powers prevented him from reaching 
the fort, was fortunate enough to hide himself in a pile of fallen timber, where he was 
compelled to remain to the end of the siege. Only two of his men survived the skir- 
mish, and they, like their leader, owed their safety to the heaps of logs and brush that 
abounded in the cornfield. 

As soon as the critical situation of Captain Mason became known at the fort, Captain 
Ogle, with twelve volunteers from the garrison, sallied forth to cover his retreat. This 
noble, self-devoted band, in their eagerness to press forward to the relief of their suffer- 
ing fellow-soldiers, fell into an ambuscade, and two-thirds of their number were slain 
upon the spot. Sergeant Jacob Ogle, though mortally wounded, managed to escape 
with two soldiers into the woods, wiiile Captain Ogle escaped in another direction, and 
found a place of concealment, which, like his brother officer, Captain Mason, he was 
obliged to keep as long as the siege continued Immediately after the departure of 
Captain Ogle's command, three new volunteers left the garrison to overtake and rein- 
force him. These men, however, did not reach the cornfield until after the bloody 
scenes had been enacted, and barely found time to return to the fort before the Indian 
host appeared before it. The enemy advanced in two ranks, in open order, their left 
flank reaching to the river bank, and their right extending into the woods as far as the 
eye could reach. As the three volunteers were about to enter the gate, a few random 
shots were fired at them, and instantly a loud whoop arose on the enemy's left flank, 
which passed as if bj^ concert, along the line to the extreme right, until the welkin was 
filled with a chorus of the most wild and startling character. This salute was responded 
to by a few well-directed rifle-shots from the lower block-houses, which produced a 
manifest confusion in the ranks of the besiegers. They discontinued their siiouting and 
retired a few paces, probably to await the coming up of their right flank, which, it would 
seem, had been directed to make a general sweep of the bottom, and then approach the 
stockade on the eastern side. 

At this moment the garrison of Fort Henry numbered no more than twelve men and 
boys. The fortunes of the day, so far, had been fearfully against them ; two of their 
best officers and more than two-thirds of their original force were missing. The exact 
fate of their comrades was unknown to them, but they had every reason to apprehend 
that they had been cut to pieces. Still they were not dismayed ; their mothers, sisters,' 
wives, and children, were assembled around them ; they had a sacred charge to protect, 
and they resolved to fight to the last extremity, and confidently trusted in Heaven for 
the successful issue of the combat. 

When the enemy's right flank came up, Girty changed his order of attack. Parties 
of Indians were placed in such of the village houses as commanded a view of the block- 
houses ; a strong body occupied the yard of Ebenezer Zane, about fifty yards from the 
fort, using a paling-fence as a cover, while the greater part were posted under cover in 
the edge of the cornfield, to act offensively or serve as a corps of reserve, as occasion 
might require. These dispositions having been made, Girty, with a white flag in his 
hand, appeared at the window of a cabin, and demanded the surrender of the garrison in 
the name of his Britannic majesty. He read the proclamation of Governor Hamilton, 
and promised them protection if they would lay down their arms and swear allegiance 
to the British crown. He warned them to submit peaceably, and admitted his inability 
to restrain the passions of his warriors when they once became excited with the strife 
of battle. Colonel Shepherd promptly told him in reply, that the garrison would never 
■surrender to him, and that he could only obtain possession of the fort when there re- 
mained no longer an American soldier to defend it. Girty renewed his proposition, but 
before he finished his harangue, a thoughtless youth in one of the block-houses fired a 
gun at the speaker, and brought the conference to an abrupt termination. Girty dis- 



OHIO COUNTY. 411 

appeared, and in about fifteen minutes the Indians opened the siege by a general dis- 
charge of rifles. 

It was yet quite early in the morning, the sun not having appeared above the summit 
of Wheeling hill, and the day is represented to have been one of surpassing beauty. 
The Indians, not entirely concealed from the view of the garrison, kept up a brisk fire 
for the space of six hours without much intermission. The little garrison, in spite of its 
heterogeneous character, was, with scarcely an exception, composed of sharp-shooters. 
Several of them, whose experience in Indian warfare gave them a remarkable degree 
of coolness and self-possession in the face of danger, infused confidence into the young ; 
and, as they never fired at random, their bullets, in most cases, took effect. The Indians, 
on the contrary, gloated with their previous success, their tomahawks reeking with the 
blood of Mason's and Ogle's men, and all of them burning with impatience to rush into 
the fort and complete their work of butchery, discharged their guns against the pickets, 
the gate, the logs of the block-houses, and every other object that seemed to shelter a 
white man. Their fire was thus thrown away. At length some of their most daring 
vi^arriors rushed up close to the block-houses, and attempted to make more sure work by 
firing through the logs ; but these reckless savages received, from the well-directed rifles 
of the frontiersmen, the fearful reward of their temerity. About one o'clock the Indians 
discontinued their fire, and fell back against the base of the hill. 

The stock of gunpowder in the fort having been nearly exhausted, it was determined 
to seize the favorable opportunity offered by the suspension of hostilities, to send for a 
keg of powder which was known to be in the house of Ebenezer Zane, about 60 yards 
from the gate of the fort. The person executing this service would necessarily expose 
himself to the danger of being shot down by the Indians, who were yet sufficiently near 
to observe every thing that transpired about the works. The colonel explained the mat- 
ter to his men, and, unwilling to order one of them to undertake such a desperate en- 
terprise, inquired whether any man would volunteer for the service. Three or four 
young men promptly stepped forward in obedience to the call. The colonel informed 
them that the weak state of the garrison would not justify the absence of more than one 
man, and that it was for themselves to decide who fhat person should be. The eager- 
ness felt by each volunteer to undertake the honorable mission, prevented them from 
making the arrangement proposed by the commandant ; and so much time was con- 
sumed in the contention between them, that fears began to arise that the Indians would 
renew the attack before the powder could be procured. At this crisis, a young lady, 
the sister of Ebenezer and Silas Zane, came forward and desired that she might be per- 
mitted to execute the service. This proposition seemed so extravagant that it met with 
a peremptory refusal ; but she instantly renewed her petition in terms of redoubled ear- 
nestness, and all the remonstrances of the colonel and her relatives failed to dissuade 
her from her heroic purpose. It was finally represented to her that either of the young 
men, on account of his superior fleetness and familiarity with scenes of danger, would 
be more likely than herself to do the work successfully. She replied, that the danger 
which would attend the enterprise was the identical reason that induced her to offer her 
services, for, as the garrison was very weak, no soldier's life should be placed in need- 
less jeopardy, and that if she were to fall her loss would not be felt. Her petition was 
ultimately granted, and the gate opened for her to pass out. The opening of the gate 
arrested the attention of several Indians who were straggling through the village. It 
was noticed that their eyes were upon her as she crossed the open space to reach her 
brother's house ; but seized, perhaps, with a sudden freak of clemency, or believing that 
a woman's life was not worth a load of gunpowder, or influenced by some other unex- 
plained motive, they permitted her to pass without molestation. When she reappeared 
with the powder in her arms, the Indians, suspecting, no doubt, the character of her 
burden, elevated their firelocks and discharged a volley at her as she swiftly glided to- 
wards the gate ; but the balls all flew wide of the mark, and the fearless girl reached 
the fort in safety with her prize. The pages of history may furnish a parallel to the 
noble exploit of Elizabeth Zane, but an instance of greater self-devotion and moral intre- 
pidity is not to be found anywhere.* 

About half past 2 o'clock, the Indians put themselves again in motion, and advanced 
to renew the siege. As in the first attack, a portion of their warriors took possession of 
the cabins contiguous to the fort, while others availed themselves of the cover afforded 
by Zane's paling-fence. A large number posted themselves in and behind a blacksmith- 

* This heroine (says Withers) had but recently returned from Philadelphia, where .she had received 
her education, and was totally unusird to such scenes as were daily exhibited on the frontier. She mar- 
ried twice, and is, or was a few years since, living in Ohio with her husband, a Mr. Clarke. 



412 OHIO COUNTY. 

shop and stable that stood opposite the northern line of pickets ; and another party, 
probably the strongest of all, stationed themselves under cover of a vporm-fence and sev- 
eral large piles of fallen timber on the south side of the fort. The siege was now re- 
opened from the latter quarter — a sti'ong gang of Indians advancing under cover of 
some large stumps that stood on the side of the declivity below the fort, and renewing 
the combat with loud yells and a brisk fire. The impetuosity of the attack on the south 
side brought the whole garrison to the two lower block-houses, from which they were 
enabled to pour out a destructive fire upon the enemy in that quarter. While the gar- 
rison was thus employed, a party of 18 or 20 Indians, armed with rails and billets of 
wood, rushed out of Zane's yard and made an attempt to force open the gate of the 
fort. Their design was discovered in time to defeat it ; but they only abandoned it 
after five or six of their number had been shot down. Upon the failure of this scheme, 
the Indians opened a fire upon the fort from all sides, except from that next to the river, 
which afforded no shelter to a besieging host. On the north and the east the battle 
raged most fiercely ; for, notwithstanding the strength of the assailants on the south, 
the unfaA'orablenessof the ground prevented them from prosecuting with much vigor the 
attack which thev had commenced with such fury. 

The rifles used by the garrison, towards evening became so much heated by continued 
firing, that they were rendered measurably useless ; and recourse was then had to mus- 
kets, a full supply of which was found in the storehouse. As darkness set in, the fire 
of the savages grew weaker, though it was not entirely discontinued until next morning. 
Shortly after nightfall, a considerable party of Indians advanced within GO yards of the 
fort, bringing with them a hollow maple log, which they had converted into a field-piece, 
by plugging up one of its ends with a block of wood. To give it additional strength, a 
quantity of chains, taken from the blacksmith-shop, encompassed it from one end to the 
other. It was heavily charged with powder, and then filled to the muzzle with pieces of 
stone, slugs of iron, and such other hard substances as could be found. The cannon 
was graduated carefully to discharge its contents against the gate of the fort. When 
the match was applied it burst into many fragments ; and although it made no effect 
upon the fort, it killed and wounded several of the Indians who stood by to witness its 
discharge. A loud yell succeeded the failure of this experiment, and the crowd dis- 
persed. By this time the Indians generally had withdrawn from the siege, and fallen 
back against the hill to take rest and food. Numbers of stragglers, however, lurked 
about the village all night, keeping up an irregular fire on the fort, and destroying what- 
ever articles of furniture and household comfort they chanced to find in the cabins. 

Late in the evening, Francis Duke, a son-in-law of Col. Shepherd, arrived from the 
Forks of Wheeling, and was shot down by the Indians before he could reach the gate of 
the fort. About 4 o'clock next morning, (September 28th,) Col. Swearingen, with 14 
men, arrived in a periogue from Cross creek, and was fortunate enough to fight his way 
into the fort without the loss of a man. 

About daybreak, Major Samuel McColloch, with 40 mounted men from Short creek, 
came to the relief of the little garrison. The gate was thrown open, and McColloch's 
men, though closely beset by the Indians, entered in safety ; but McColloch himself 
was not permitted to pass the gateway : the Indians crowded around him and separated 
him from his party. After several ineffectual attempts to force his way to the gate, he 
wheeled about and galloped with the swiftness of a deer in the direction of Wheeling 
hill. 

The Indians might easily have killed him. But they cherished towards him an 
almost phrensied hatred ; for he had participated in so many encounters that almost 
every warrior personally knew him. To take him alive, and glut their full revenge by 
the most fiendish tortures, was their object ; and they made almost superhuman exer- 
tions to capture him. He put spurs to his horse, but soon became completely hemmed 
in on three sides, and the fourth was an almost perpendicular precipice of 150 feet de- 
scent, with Wheeling creek at its base. Supporting his rifle in his left hand, and care- 
fully adjusting his reins with the other, he urged his horse to the brink of the bluff", and 
then made the leap which decided his fate. In the next moment the noble steed, still 
bearing his intrepid rider in safety, was at the foot of the precipice. McColloch imme- 
diately dashed across the creek, and was soon beyond the reach of the Indians. 

After the escape of Major McColloch, the Indians concentrated at the foot of the 
hill, and soon after set fire to all the houses and fences outside the fort, and killed about 
300 head of cattle belonging to the settlers. They then raised the siege, and took up 
iheir line of march to some other theatre of action. 

During the investiture, not a man within the fort was killed, and only one wounded, 



OHIO COUNTY. 413 

and that wound was a slight one. But the loss sustained by the whites during the 
enemy's inroad was remarkably severe. Of the 42 men who were in the fort on the 
morning of the 27th, no less than 23 were killed in the cornfield before the siege com- 
menced. The two men who had been sent down the river the previous night in a canoe, 
were intercepted by the Indians and killed also ; and, if we include Mr. Duke in the 
Ibt, the loss sustained by the settlement amounted to 26 killed, besides four or five 
wounded. The enemy's loss was from 60 to 100. Agreeably to their ancient custom, 
they removed their dead from the field before the siege was raised ; the extent of their 
loss is therefore merely conjectural. 

The defence of Fort Henry, when we consider the extreme weakness of the garrison 
and the forty-fold superiority of the besieging host, was admirably conducted. Foremost 
on the list of these brave frontier soldiers was Col. Shepherd, the commandant of the 
fort, whose good conduct on this occasion gained for him the appointment of county- 
lieutenant from Gov. Patrick Henry. The brothers Silas and Ebenezer Zane, and John 
Caldwell, men of influence in the community, and the first settlers at Wheeling, are 
spoken of as having contributed much to the success of the battle. Besides the names 
already mentioned, those of Abraham Rogers, John Linn, Joseph Biggs, and Robert 
Lemmon must not be omitted, as they were among the best Indian-fighters on the fron- 
tier, and aided much in achieving the victory of the day. The lady of Ebenezer Zane, 
together with several other females in the fort, undismayed by the sanguinary strife that 
was going on, employed themselves in running bullets and preparing patches for the use 
of the men ; and, by their presence at every point where they could make themselves 
useful, and hy their cheering words of encouragement, infused new life into the soldiers, 
and spurred them on in the performance of their duty. The noble act of Elizabeth 
Zane, which has already been related, inspired the men with an enthusiasm which con- 
tributed not a little to turn the fortunes of the day. The affair at Fort Henry Vi/;:s em- 
phatically one of the battles of the revolution. The northwestern Indians were as 
much the mercenary troops of Great Britain as were the Hessians and the Waldeckers, 
who fought at Bennington, Saratoga, and In New Jersey. If the price received by the 
Indians for the scalps of American citizens did not always amount to the daily pay of 
the European minions of England, it was, nevertheless, sufficient to prove that the 
American savages and the German hirelings were precisely on the same footing as part 
and parcel of the British army. 

A full description of the many feats of bravery displayed by the 
early settlers of western Virginia in their wars with the Indians, 
would fill volumes. The preceding account of the siege of 
Fort Henry, shows how much was effected by a combination of 
a few individuals against a vastly superior force of savages ; the 
following extracts from Doddridge, show how much was accom- 
plished by the bravery, skill, and activity of single individuals — 
some of whom were mere children — in the desperate warfare car- 
ried on against the Indians on the western frontier : 

Lewis Wetzel. — Lewis Wetzel was the son of John Wetzel, a German, who settled 
on Big Wheeling, about fourteen miles from the river. He was among the first adven- 
turers into that part of the country. His education, like that of his cotemporaries, was 
that of the hunter and warrior. When a boy, he adopted the practice of loading and 
firing his rifle as he ran. This was a means of making him so destructive to the Indians 
afterwards. 

When about thirteen years old, he was taken prisoner by the Indians, together with 
his brother Jacob, about eleven years old. Before he was taken he received a slight 
wound in the breast from a bullet, which carried oflT a small piece of his breast-bone 
The second night after they were taken, the Indians encamped at the Big Lick, twenty 
miles from the river, on the waters of M'Mahan's creek. The boys were not confined. 
After the Indians had fallen asleep, Lewis whispered to his brother Jacob that he must 
get up and go back home with him. Jacob at first objected, but afterwards got up and 
went along with him. When they had got about one hundred yards from the camp, 
they sat down on a log. " Well," said Lewis, " we can't go home barefooted ; I will go 
back and get a pair of moccasins for each of us ;" and accordingly did so, and returned. 
After sitting a little longer, •' Now," says he, " I will go back and get father's gun, and 



414 OHIO COUNTY, 

then we'll start." This he effected. They had not travelled far on the trail by which 
they came, before they heard the Indians coming after them. It was a moonlight night. 
When the Indians came pretty nigh them, they stepped aside into the bu.shes, let them 
pass, then fell into their rear, and travelled on. On the return of the Indians they did 
the same. They were then pursued by two Indians on horseback, whom they dodged 
in the same way. The next day they reached Wheeling in safety, crossing from the In- 
dian shore to Wheeling island on a raft of their own making. By this time Lewis had 
become almost spent from his wound. 

In the year 1782, after Crawford's defeat, Lewis went with a Thomas Mills, who had 
been in the campaign, to get his horse, which he had left near the place where St. Clairs- 
ville now stands. At the Indian springs, two miles from St. Clairsville, on the Wheel- 
ing road, they were met by about ibrty Indians, who were in pursuit of the stragglers 
from the campaign. The Indians and white men discovered each other about the same 
moment. Lewis fired first and killed an Indian, while the Indians wounded Mills in the 
heel, who was soon overtaken and killed. Four of the Indians then singled out, dropped 
their guns, and pursued Wetzel. Wetzel loaded his rifle as he ran. After running about 
half a mile, one of the Indians having got within eight or ten steps of him, Wetzel 
wheeled round and shot him down, ran, and loaded his gun as before. After going 
about three quarters of a mile further, a second Indian came so close to him, that when 
he turned to fire, the .Indian caught the muzzle of the gun, and, as he expressed it, " he 
and the Indian had a severe wring." He however succeeded in bringing the muzzle to 
the Indian's breast, and killed him on the spot. By this time, he as well as the Indians 
were pretty well tired ; yet the pursuit was continued by the two remaining Indians. 
Wetzel, as before, loaded his gun, and stopped several times during this latter chase : 
when he did so, the Indians treed themselves. After going something more than a mile, 
Wetzel took advantage of a little open piece of ground over which the Indians were 
passing, a short distance behind him, to make a sudden stop for the purpose of shooting 
the foremost, who got behind a little sapling which was too small to cover his body 
Wetzel shot, and broke his thigh. The wound in the issue proved fatal. The last of the 
Indians then gave a little yell, and said, " No catch dat man, gun always loaded," and 
gave up the chase, glad no doubt to get off with his life. 

It is said that Lewis Wetzel, in the course of the Indian wars in this part of the coun- 
try, killed twenty-seven Indians, besides a number more along the frontier settlements 
of Kentucky. 

Adam Poe. — In the summer of 1782, a party of seven Wyandots made an incursion 
into a settlement some distance below Fort Pitt, and several miles from the Ohio River. 
Here finding an old man alone in a cabin, they killed him, packed up what plunder they 
could find, and commenced their retreat. Amongst their party was a celebrated Wyan- 
dot chief, who, in addition to his fame as a warrior and counsellor, was, as to his size 
and strength, a real giant. 

The news of the visit of the Indians soon spread through the neighborhood, and a party 
of eight good riflemen was collected in a few hours for the purpose of pursuing the In- 
dians. In this party were two brothers of the names of Adam and Andrew Poe. They 
were both famous for courage, size, and activity. This little party commenced the pur- 
suit of the Indians with a determination, if possible, not to sutFer them to escape, as they 
usually did on such occasions, by making a speedy flight to the river, crossing it, and 
then dividing into small parties, to meet at a distant point in a given time. The pursuit 
was continued the greater part of the night after the Indians had done the mischief 
In the morning the party found themselves on the trail of the Indians, which led to the 
river. When arrived within a little distance of the river, Adam Poe, fearing an ambus- 
cade, left the party, who followed directly on the trail, to creep along the brink of the 
river bank, under cover of the weeds and bushes, to fall on the rear of the Indians, 
should he find them in ambuscade. He had not gone far before he saw the Indian rafts 
at the water's edge. Not seeing any Indians, he stepped softly down the bank, with his 
rifle cocked. When about half way down, he discovered the large Wyandot chief and 
a small Indian, within a few steps of him. They were standing with their guns cocked, 
and looking in the direction of our party, who by this time had gone some distance 
lower down tlie bottom. Poe took aim at the large chief, but his rifle missed fire. The 
Indians hearing the snap of the gun-lock, instantly turned round and discovered Poe, 
who being too near them to retreat, dropped his gun, and sprang from the bank upon 
them, and seizing the large Indian by the clothes on his breast, and at the same time 
embracing the neck of the small one, threw them both down on the ground, himself being 
uppermost. The small Indian soon extricated himself, ran to the raft, got his tomahawk, 



OHIO COTFNTY. 415 

and attempted to dispatch Poe, the large Indian holding him fast in his arms with all his 
might, the better to enable his fellow to effect his purpose. Poe, however, so well watched 
the motions of his assailant, that, when in the act of aiming his blow at his head, by a 
vigorous and well-directed kick with one of his feet, he staggered the savage, and 
knocked the tomahawk out of his hand. This failure, on the part of the small Indian, 
was reproved by an exclamation of contempt from the large one. 

In a moment the Indian caught up his tomahawk again, approached more cautiously, 
brandishing his tomahawk, and making a number of feigned blows in defiance and de- 
rision. Poe, however, still on his guard, averted the real blow from his head, by throw- 
ing up his arm and receiving it on his wrist, in which he was severely wounded ; but 
not so as to lose entirely the use of his hand. In this perilous moment, Poe, by a vio- 
lent effort, broke loose from the Indian, snatched up one of the Indians' guns, and shot 
the small Indian through the breast, as he ran up a third time to tomahawk him. The 
large Indian was now on his feet, and grasping Poe by a shoulder and leg, threw him 
down on the bank. Poe instantly disengaged himself, and got on his feet. The Indian 
then seized him again, and a new struggle ensued, which, owing to the slippery state of 
the bank, ended in the fall of both combatants into the water. In this situation, it was 
the object of each to drown the other. Their efforts to effect their purpose were con- 
tinued for some time with alternate success, sometimes one being under the water and 
sometimes the other. Poe at length seized the tuft of hair on the scalp of the Indian, 
with which he held his head under water, until he supposed him drowned. Relaxing hiir 
hold too soon, Poe instantly found his gigantic antagonist on his feet again, and ready 
for another combat. In this they were carried into the water beyond tlieir depth. In 
this situation they were compelled to loose their hold on each other, and swim for mutual 
safety. Both sought the shore, to seize a gun and end the contest with bullets. The 
Indian, being the best swimmer, reached the land first. Poe seeing this, immediately 
turned back into the water, to escape, if possible, being shot, by diving. Fortunately, 
the Indian caught up the rifle with which Poe had killed the other warrior. At this 
juncture, Andrew Poe, missing his brother from the party, and supposing from the report 
of the gun which he shot, that he was either killed or engaged in conflict with the In- 
dians, hastened to the spot. On seeing him, Adam called out to him to " kill the big 
Indian on shore." But Andrew's gun, like that of the Indian's, was empty. The con- 
test was now between the white and the Indian, who should load and fire first. Very 
fortunately for Poe, the Indian in loading drew the ramrod from the thimbles of the 
stock of the gun with so much violence that it slipped out of his hand, and fell a little 
distance from him. He quickly caught it up, and rammed down his bullet. This little 
delay gave Poe the advantage. He shot the Indian as he was raising his gun to take 
aim at him. 

As soon as Andrew had shot the Indian, he jumped into the river to assist his wounded 
brother to shore ; but Adam, thinking more of the honor of carrying the scalp of the big 
Indian home as a trophy of victory than of his own safety, urged Andrew to go back, 
and prevent the struggling savage from rolling himself into the river and escaping. An- 
drew's solicitude for the life of his brother prevented him from complying with this re- 
quest. In the mean time, the Indian, jealous of the honor of his scalp even in the ago- 
nies of death, succeeded in reaching the river and getting into the current, so that his 
body was never obtained. An unfortunate occurrence took place during this conflict. 
Just as Andrew arrived at the top of the bank for the relief of his brother, one of the 
party who had followed close behind him, seeing Adam in the river, and mistaking him 
for a wounded Indian, shot at him, and wounded him in the shoulder. He however re- 
covered from his wounds. During the contest between Adam Poe and the Indians, the 
party had overtaken the remaining six of them. A desperate conflict ensued, in which 
five of the Indians were killed. Our loss was three men killed, and Adam Poe severely 
wounded. Thus ended this Spartan conflict, with the loss of three valiant men on our 
part, and with that of the whole Indian party excepting one warrior. Never on any 
occasion was there a greater display of desperate bravery, and seldom did a conflict take 
place, which, in the issue, proved fatal to so great a proportion of tho-e engaged in it. 

The fatal result of this little campaign, on the side of the Indians, occasioned a uni- 
versal mourning among the Wyandot nation. The big Indian and his four brothers, all 
of whom were killed at the same place, were among the most distinguished chiefs and 
warriors of their nation. 

The big Indian was magnanimous as well as brave. He, more than any other indi. 
vidual, contributed, by his example and influence, to the good character of the Wyan- 
dots for lenity towards their prisoners. He would not suffer them to be killed or ill- 



416 OHIO COUNTY. 

treated. This mercy to captives was an honorable distinction in the character of the 
Wyandots, and was well understood by our first settlers, who, in case of captivity, thought 
it a fortunate circumstance to fall into their hands. 

The Johnsons. — In the fall of the year 1793, two boys of the name of John and Henry 
Johnson, the first thirteen and the latter eleven years old, whose parents lived in Car- 
penter's station, a Utile distance above the mouth of Short creek, on the east side of the 
Ohio River, were sent out in the evening to hunt the cows. At the foot of a hill, at the 
back of the bottom, they sat down under a hickory tree to crack some nuts. They soon 
saw two men coming towards them, one of whom had a bridle in his hand. Being 
dressed like white men, they mistook them for their father and an uncle, in search of 
horses. When they discovered their mistake, and attempted to run off, the Indians, 
pointing their guns at them, told them to stop or they would kill them. They halted, 
and were taken prisoners. 

The Indians, being in pursuit of horses, conducted the boys by a circuitous route over 
the Short creek hills in search of them, until late in the evening, when they halted at a 
spring in a hollow place, about three miles from the fort. Here they kindled a small 
fire, cooked and ate some victuals, and prepared to repose for the night. Henry, the 
youngest of the boys, during the ramble had affected the greatest satisfaction at having 
been taken prisoner. He said his father was a hard master, who kept him always at 
hard work, and allowed him no play ; but that for his part he wished to live in the woods 
and be a hunter. This deportment soon brought him into intimacy with one of the In- 
dians, who could speak very good English. The Indians frequently asked the boys if they 
knew of any good horses running in the woods. Some time before they halted, one of 
the Indians gave the largest of the boys a little bag, which he supposed contained money, 
and made him carry it. 

When night came on the fire was covered up, the boys pinioned, and made to lie down 
together. The Indians then placed their hoppis straps over them, and lay down, one on 
each side of them, on the ends of the straps. Pretty late in the night the Indians fell 
asleep ; and one of them becoming cold, caught hold of John in his arms, and turned 
him over on the outside. In this situation, the boy, who had kept awake, found means 
to get his hands loose. He then whispered to his brother, made him get up, and untied 
his arms. Tiiis done, Henry thought of nothing but running off as fast as possible ; but 
when about to start, John caught hold of him, saying, " We must kill these Indians be- 
fore we go." After some hesitation, Henry agreed to make the attempt. John then 
took one of the rifles of the Indians, and placed it on a log, with the muzzle close to the 
head of one of them. He then cocked the gun, and placed his little brother at the breech, 
with his finger on the trigger, with instructions to pull it as soon as he should strike the 
other Indian. 

He then took one of the Indian's tomahawks, and standing astride of the other In- 
dian, struck him with it. The blow, however, fell on the back of the neck and to one 
side, so as not to be fatal. The Indian then attempted to spring up ; but the little fel- 
low repeated his blows with such forcd and rapidity on the skull, that, as he expressed 
it, "the Indian lay still and began to quiver."„ At the moment of the first stroke given 
by the elder brother with the tomahawk, the younger one pulled the trigger, and shot 
away a considerable portion of the Indian's lower jaw. This Indian, a moment after 
receiving the shot, began to flounce about and yell in the most frightful manner. The 
boys then made the best of their way to the fort, and reached it a little before daybreak. 
On getting near the fort they found the people all up and in great agitation on their ac- 
count. On hearing a woman exclaim, " Poor little fellows, they are killed or taken 
prisoners !" the oldest one answered, " No, mother, we are here yet." 

Having brought nothing away with them from the Indian camp, their relation of what 
had lakeii place between them and the Indians was not fully credited. A small party 
was soon made up to go and ascertain the truth or falsehood of their report. This party 
the I'ovs conducted to the spot by the shortest route. On arriving at the place, they 
found the Indian whom the oldest broher had tomahawked, lying dead in the camp: the 
other had crawled away, and taken his gun and shot-pouch with him. After scalping 
the Indian, the party returned to the fort ; and the same day a larger party went out to 
look after the wounded Indian, who had crawled some distance from the camp and con. 
cealed himself iu the top of a fallen tree, where, notwithstanding the severity of his 
wound, with a Spartan bravery he determined to sell his life as dearl,y as possible. Hav- 
ing fixed his gun for the purpose, on the approach of the men to a proper distance, he 
took aim at one of them, and pulled the trigger, but his gun missed fire. On hearing 
the snap of the lock, one of the men exclaimed, " I should not like to be killed by a 



ORANGE COUNTV. 



417 



dead Indian !" The party concluding that tiie Indian would die at any rate, thought 
best to retreat, and return and look for him after some time. On returning, however, 
lie could not be found, having crawled away and concealed himself in some other place. 
His skeleton and gun were found some time afterwards. 

The Indians who were killed were great warriors, and very wealthy. The bag, which 
was supposed to contain money, it was conjectured was got by one of the party who went 
out first in the morning. On hearing the report of the boys, he slipped off by himself, 
and reached the place before the party arrived. For some lime afterwards he appeared 
to have a greater plenty of money than his neighbors. 

The Indians themselves did honor to the bravery of these two boys. After their treaty 
with Gen. Wayne, a friend of the Indians who were killed, made inquiry of a man from 
Short creek, what had become of the boys who killed the Indians? He was answered 
that they lived at the same place with their parents. The Indian replied, " You have 
not done right ; you should make kings of those boys." 



ORANGE. 

Orange was formed in 1734, from Spottsylvania, atld derived its 
name from the color of the soil in its upper or mountainous portion. 
Its original limits comprised the whole of Virginia west of the Blue 
Ridge. It is now 22 m. long, with a variable width of from 5 to 20 




The Church of the " Blind Preacher." 

miles. The Rapid Ann forms its nw. boundary. The surface is 
hilly, and the soil generally fertile. Gold is found in the county, 
and in 1840 the value produced amounted to $84,000. Pop. in 
1840, whites 3,575, slaves 5,364, free colored 186 ; total, 9,125. 

Orange C. H., is 80 miles nw. of Richmond, and 92 miles from 
Washington City. It contains 5 mercantile stores, 1 Episcopal 
and 1 Methodist church, and a population of about 350. Bar- 
boursville, 12 miles sw., and Gordonsville, 10 miles s. of the C. H., 
are small places. The latter is the terminating point of the Louisa 
rail-road, and about 70 miles from Richmond. 

Near the little village of Gordonsville, in the depths of the forest, 
stands an old church. It is an humble unpainted structure of 

53 



418 OSA^.GE COUNTY. 

wood, yet there clings about it a peculiar interest — an interest 
which all must feel who have read — and who has not ? — the pa- 
thetic description of the Blind Preacher by the British Spy : 

It was one Sunday, (says he,) as I travelled through the county of Orange, that my 

eye was caught by a cluster of horses tied near a ruinous old wooden house in the forest, 

.not far from the roadside. Having frequently seen such objects before, in travelling 

through these states, I had no difficulty in understanding that this was a place of 

religious worship. 

Devotion alone should have stopped me, to join in the duties of the congregation ; but 
I must confess that curiosity to hear the preacher of such a wilderness was not the least 
of my motives. On entering, I was struck with his preternatural appearance. He was 
a tall and very spare old man. His head, which was covered with a white linen cap, 
his shrivelled hands, and his voice, were all shaking under the influence of a palsy ; and 
a few moments ascertained to me that he was perfectly blind. 

The first emotions which touched my breast were those of mingled pity and venera- 
tion. But ah ! sacred God I how soon were all my feelings cbanged ! The lips of 
Plato were never more worthy of a prognostic swarm of bees, than were the lips of this 
holy man ! It was a day of the administration of the sacrament ; and his subject, of 
course, was the passion of our Saviour. I had heard the subject handled a thousand 
times. I had thought it exhausted long ago. Little did I suppose, that in the wild 
woods of America I was to meet with a man whose eloquence would give to this topic 
a new and more sublime pathos than I had ever before witnessed. 

As he descended from the pulpit to distribute the mystic symbols, there was a peculiar, 
a more than human solemnity in his air and manner, which made my blood run cold, 
and my whole frame shiver. 

He then drew a picture of the sufferings of our Saviour ; his trial before Pilate ; his 
ascent up Calvary ; his crucifixion, and his death. I knew the whole history ; but never, 
until then, had I heard the circumstances so selected, so arranged, so colored ! It was 
all new, and I seemed to have heard it for the first time in my life. His enunciation 
was so deliberate that his voice trembled on every syllable, and every heart in the assem- 
bly trembled in unison. His peculiar phrases had that force of description that the 
original scene appeared to be, at that moment, acting before our eyes. We saw the very 
faces of the Jews : the staring, frightful distortions of malice and rage. We saw the 
buffet ; my soul kindled with a flame of indignation, and my hands were involuntarily 
and convulsively clenched. 

But when he came to touch on the patience, the forgiving meekness of our Saviour ; 
when he drew, to the life, his blessed eyes streaming in tears to heaven ; his voice 
breathing to God a soft and gentle prayer of pardon on his enemies, " Father, forgive 
them, for they know not what they do" — the voice oi the preacher, which had all along 
faltered, grew fainter and fainter, until his utterance being entirely obstructed by the 
force of his feelings, he raised his handkerchief to his eyes, and burst into a loud and 
irrepressible flood of grief. The effect is inconceivable. The whole house resounded 
with the mingled groans, and sobs, and shrieks of the congregation. 

It was some time before the tumult had subsided so far as to permit him to proceed. 
Indeed, judging by the usual, but fallacious standard of my own weakness, I began to 
be very uneasy for the situation of the preacher. For I could not conceive how he 
would be able to let his audience down from the height to which he had wound them, 
without impairing the solemnity and dignity of his subject, or perhaps shocking them 
by the abruptness of the fall. But — no ; the descent was as beautiful and sublime as 
tlie elevation had been rapid and enthusiastic. 

The first sentence, with which he broke the awful silence, was a quotation from Rous, 
seau, " Socrates died hke a philosopher, but Jesus Christ like a God !" 

I despair of giving, you any idea of the effect produced by this short sentence, unless 
you could perfectly conceive the whole manner of the man, as well as the peculiar crisis 
in the discourse. Never before did I completely understand what Demosthenes meant 
by laying such stress on delivery. You are to bring before you the venerable figure of 
the preacher ; his blindness constantly recalling to your recollection old Homer, Ossian, 
and Milton, and associating with his performance the melancholy grandeur of their 
geniuses. You are to imagine that you hear his slow, solemn, well-accented enuncia- 
tion, and his voice of affecting, trembling melody ; you are to remember the pitch of 
passion and enthusiasm to which the congregation were raised ; and then the few min- 
utes of portentous, death-like silence, which reigned throughout the house ; the preacher 



ORANGE COUNTY. 419 

removing his white handkerchief from his aged face, (even yet wet from the recent 
torrent of his tears,) and slowly stretching forth the palsied hand which holds it, begins 
the sentence, " Socrates died like a philosopher" — then pausing, raising his other hand, 
pressing them both clasped together with warmth and energy to his breast, lifting his 
" sightless balls" to heaven, and pouring his whole soul into his tremulous voice — " but 
Jesus Christ — like a God !" If he had been indeed and in truth an angel of light, the 
eti'ect could scarcely have been more divine. 

Whatever I had been able to conceive of the sublimity of Massillo'n, or the force of 
Bourdaloue, had fallen far short of the power which I felt from the delivery of this 
simple sentence. The blood, which just before had rushed in a hurricane upon my brain, 
and, in the violence and agony of my feelings, had held my whole system in suspense, 
now ran back into my heart with a sensation which I cannot describe — a kind of shud- 
dering delicious horror ! The paroxysm of blended pity and indignation to which I 
had been transported, subsided into the deepest self-abasement, humility, and adoration. 
I had just been lacerated and dissolved by sympathy for our Saviour as a fellow- 
creature ; but now, with fear and trembling, I adored him as — " a God !" 

If this description give you the impression that this incomparable minister had any 
thing of shallow, theatrical trick in his manner, it does him great injustice. I have 
never seen, in any other orator, such a union of simplicity and majesty. He has not a 
gesture, an attitude, or an accent, to which he does not seem forced by the sentiment 
which he is expressing. His mind is too serious, too earnest, too solicitous, and, at the 
same time, too dignified, to stoop to artifice. Although as far removed from ostentation 
as a man can be, yet it is clear from the train, the style, and substance of his thoughts, 
that he is not only a very polite scholar, but a man of extensive and profound erudition. 
I was forcibly struck with a short, yet beautiful character which he drew of our learned 
and amiable countryman. Sir Robert Boyle. He spoke of him as if " his noble mind 
had, even before death, divested herself of all influence from his frail tabernacle of flesh ;" 
and called him, in his peculiarly emphatic and impressive manner, " a pure intelligence : 
the link between men and angels." 

This man has been before my imagination almost ever since. A thousand times, as I 
rode along, I dropped the reins of my bridle, stretched forth my hand, and tried to imi- 
tate his quotation from Rousseau ; a thousand times I abandoned the attempt in despair, 
and felt persuaded that his peculiar manner and power arose from an energy of soul 
which nature could give, but which no human being could justly copy. In short, he 
seems to be altogether a being of a former age, or of a totally different nature from the 
rest of men. As I recall, at this moment, several of his awfully striking attitudes, the 
chilling tide, with which my blood begins to pour along my arteries, reminds me of the 
emotions produced by the first sight of Gray's introductory picture of his bard : 

" On a rock, whose haughty brow, 

Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood, 
Robed in the sable garb of wo, 

With haggard eyes the poet stood ; 
(Loose his beard and hoary hair 

Streamed, like a meteor, to the trotibled air :) 
And with a poet's hand and prophet's fire, 

Struck the deep sorrows of his lyre." 

Guess my surprise, when, on my arrival at Richmond, and mentioning the name of 
this man, I found not one person who had ever before heard of James Waddel ! ! 

* # * # * * 

The above description of the blind preacher has been admired 
by thousands, and many have supposed it to be fiction. Although 
years have elapsed since it was written, it is only within a few 
months that a laudable curiosity has been gratified, to know the 
history of one whose eloquence drew forth such high encomiums 
from the accomplished author of the British Spy. This has been 
done in the memoir of Mr. Waddel, published recently in the 
Watchman of the South, by James W. Alexander, D. D., late pro- 
fessor in the college at Princeton, and grandson of the blind 
preacher. From this memoir the following sketch is principally 
derived : — 



420 ORAXGE COUNTY. 

James Waddel, D. D., was born in the north of Ireland in 1739, and was brought 
by his parents, in his infancy, to America. They settled in the southeastern part oi 
Pennsylvania, near the state h'ne, on White Clay creek. To the advice of an excellent 
and pious mother, Mr. Waddel ascribed his first religious convictions. She was a wo- 
man of eminent Christian knowledge and piety, and brought with her to this country 
the methods of ancient Scottish Presbyterianism. When about 13 years of age, he was 
sent to and educated at the academy of the celebrated Dr. Finley, at Nottingham, Penn- 
sylvania, where he studied the classics, mathematics, logic, and those branches indispen- 
sable for the learned callings. Such was his proficiency, that his distinguished preceptor 
soon employed him as an assistant. He was afterwards an assistant teacher in another 
rioted Presbyterian school, at Pequea, in Lancaster co., under the elder Smith. After 
passing a year or more in that seminary, in pursuance of a long-cherished plan — as it 
is thought, to devote himself to teaching — he set forth on his travels for the south, and 
finally reached Hanover county, in Virginia. There he made the acquaintance of Col. 
Henry, the father of Patrick Henry, and the celebrated Samuel Davies. The meeting 
with Mr. Davies gave a direction to young Waddel's life. We next find him in Louisa, 
where he assisted the Rev. Mr. Todd in his school, and devoted his leisure to the study 
of theology. He was licensed as a Probationer, April 2d, 1761, by the (old) Presbytery 
of Hanover, and in the following year, 1762, accepted a call to the churches of Lancas- 
ter and Northumberland. There he found so much hospitality, intelligence, and polish, 
among those old Virginia gentry, that he would cheerfully have passed his life among 
them, but for the ill effects of the climate. There was then a brisk trade with Great 
Britain from the mouths of the rivers, and much genuine piety among the merchants 
and planters of that region. Mr. Waddel's labors were not slight, as he had three 
preaching places, viz. : Lancaster C. H., the Forest meeting-house, and the Northumber- 
land meeting-house. About the year 1768, he married Mary Gordon, the daughter of 
Col. James Gordon, ancestor of Gen. Gordon of Albemarle. The Presbyterian churches 
of the Northern Neck owed much to the zeal of Col. G., who was an elder in the church, 
and after his death they visibly declined, and were finally pretty much absorbed in the 
Baptists. This was in part owing to their estates being open to the ravages of the Brit- 
ish vessels, who, carrying off their property, led to the decline of the wealthy Presby- 
terian families. 

About the year 1775, Mr. Waddel removed to the Tinkling Spring church, in Augusta. 
Although almost broken down by disease, his frame attenuated, and his voice impaired, 
yet he drew crowds of hearers. 

In 1783 he accepted a call, and gave his services to the united congregations of 
Staunton and Tinkling Spring. He remained in Augusta about seven years, during 
which his health was entirely renovated. His salary was only X45 per annum, Virginia 
money. 

From thence, Mr. Waddel made a last earthly removal to an estate which he named 
Hopewell, near the angle of Louisa, Orange, and Albemarle. While here he preached 
at the " D. S." church, near Charlottesville, at a log-house in Clarkesville, at the Brick 
church near Orange C. H., and in the small edifice erected by himself, represented in 
the preceding view. He also again became a teacher. Among his pupils were Meri- 
wether Clark and Governor Barbour. 

Although secluded from the literary world, he found means to become thoroughly 
versed in theology, as well as general literature. Mr. Waddel resided in Louisa about 
20 years. There he ended his days, Sept. 17th, 1805, and, according to his request, was 
buried in his garden. His last hours were such as might have been expected, from a 
life of eminent piety and singular self-control. 

In person Dr. Waddel was tall and erect, and when a young man he is said to have 
been of striking appearance. His complexion was fair, and his eyes of a light blue ; 
his mien unusually dignified, and his manners elegant and graceful. His eloquence has 
become matter of tradition in Virginia. It electrified whole assemblies, transfused to 
them the speaker's passion at his will ; " a species," says his biographer, " I must be 
allowed to say, which I have seldom heard but in the south." Under his preaching, au- 
diences were irresistibly and simultaneously moved, like the wind-shaken forest. Espe- 
cially was his power great in so painting sacred scenes, as to bring the hearer into the 
very presence of the object. Even his ordinary private intercourse was an uncommon 
treat to intellectual persons, and occasioned the first men of his time to seek his com- 
pany. When in scornful argument he was like the sweeping torrent, carrying every 
thing before it. 

It was in 1803, when Mr. Waddel was approaching the end of his life, that Mr. Wirt, 



ORANGE COUNTY. 421 

under the incog^nito of a British officer, wrote his celebrated description. It has often 
been questioned how far the accomplished author gave' himself the license of fiction in 
his sketch. It may, therefore, be observed, that Dr. Waddel was well known in Vir- 
ginia, his pulpit costume was different from tliat described, and that the British Spy, 
instead of being a transient stranger, was well acquainted with Dr. W. and his family. 
Says Prof Alexander, " Mr. Wirt stated to me, that so far from adding colors to the 
picture of Dr. Waddel's eloquence, he had fallen below the truth. He did not hesitate 
to say that he had reason to believe, that in a different species of oratory he was fully 
equal to Patrick Henry. He added, that in regard to the place, time, costume, and les- 
ser particulars, he had used an allowable liberty, grouping together events which had 
occurred apart, and, perhaps, imagining as in a sermon, observations which had been ut- 
tered by the fireside." Patrick Henry was accustomed to say, that Waddel and Davies 
were the greatest orators he ever heard. The elocution of those men was not that 
taught by masters, or that practised before the mirrors of colleges. A venerable clergy- 
man said, " When other men preach, one looks to see who is affected ; when Dr. Wad- 
del preached, those vot affected were the exception. Whole congregations were affect, 
ed." Gov. Barbour declared, that Dr. W. surpassed all orators he ever knew. 

Dr. Waddel on some occasions employed his singular faculty in the revolution, in 
patriotic services, and once addressed Tate's company, at Midway, Rockbridge county, 
previous to their marching to the south. When the British Spy appeared, the old gentle- 
man was unfeignedly grieved at the laudatory notice of himself, and in reply to a com- 
plimentary letter which he received, he dictated the words, Haud merita laus, oppro- 
brium est — [Unmerited praise is a reproach.] 

His independence and zeal brought him into collision with the established church ; and 
he was one time fined f )r occupying a parish church. In the latter part of his life he 
was afflicted with blindness. After several years his sight was partially restored by the 
operation of couching. 

A most touching account of Dr. Waddel's restoration to sight has lately been pub- 
lished in the Literary Messenger. From it we derive the following : For eight years he 
had been blind, a stranger equally to the cheerful light of day and the cheering faces of 
kindred and friends. In the lapse of time great changes had taken place. The infant 
had left the knee to rove among the fields — the youth had started into manhood, and 
gone forth in the busy scenes of life, without a hope that the eyes of his venerable father 
would ever rest upon him. Like the evening cloud of summer, a calm and holy resig 
nation settled over the mind of this man of God ; but the dark curtain which hung ovei 
the organs of sight seemed destined to rise no more. 

After an operation for cataract, which, in the progress of some years, had renderea 
light sensible, and then objects faintly visible — a well-constructed convex lens, sent by 
a distant friend, enabled him in a moment to see with considerable distinctness. The 
scene which followed in his family around was most moving. The father could again 
see his children, who riveted his attention and absorbed his soul. Among these emo- 
tions of intense interest and varied suggestion were visible in the eye, countenance, and 
hurried movements. The bursts of laughter — the running to and fro — the clapping of 
hands — the sending for absent friends — and then the silent tear bedewing the cheek in 
touching interlude — the eager gaze of old servants, and the unmeaning wonder of young 
ones — in short, the happy confusion and joy was such a scene as a master's pencil might 
have been proud to sketch. The paro.xysm produced by the first application of the 
glasses having passed away ; behold ! the patriarch in his large arm-chair, with his 
children around him, scanning with affectionate curiosity the bashful group. There 
was a visible shyness among the lesser members of the family while undergoing this 
fatherly scrutiny, not unlike that produced by a long absence. The fondness of a father 
in contemplating those most dear to him was never more rationally exemplified, or ex- 
quisitely enjoyed. And now the venerable old man arose from his seat, and grasped 
a long staff, which seemed powerfully but momentarily to engage his attention — it had 
been the companion of his darkest days, the pioneer of his domestic travels, and the 
supporter of a weak and tottering frame — he then proceeded to the front door to take a 
view of the mountains, the beautiful southwest range, stretching out in lovely prospect 
at the distance of about three miles. All followed ; and the mountain-scene, though 
viewed a thousand times before, was now gazed upon with deeper interest, and present- 
ed a greater variety of beauties than ever. 

About four miles from Orange C. H., on a slight eminence, is 
Montpelier, which was the seat of James Madison, President of 



422 ORAXGE COUNTY. 

the United States from 1809 to 1817. It is a large brick building. 
Its interior is furnished with plain, but rich furniture, and orna- 



Montpelier, the seat of President Madison. 

mented with busts, pictures, &c. There is an extensive lawn in 
the rear of the mansion, beyond which is a large and elegant gar- 
den, containing a great variety of both native and exotic plants. 
Mr. Madison died at Montpelier, on the 28th of June, 1836, at the 
advanced age of eighty-seven, deeply lamented as a national loss. 
The following sketch, from the New York Mirror, is by one who 
knew him well, and passed many pleasant hours in his society : 

Great occasions produce great men. 

/^ y \ The records of our own country bear tes- 

>^e-^<>*^ .<C^ /ft^-^^^y/ •^ timony to this truth. In the early and 

y in the later ages of her struggles, there 

' were not wanting men to advise and to 

act for a nation's welfare. Among those who have acted a conspicuous part in building 

up our political and civil institutions for more than sixty years, was James Madison, 

who has lately sunk to rest, full of years and honors. 

Mr. Madison was by birth a Virginian, and wholly educated in this country. He 
was intended for a statesman from his youth, and made himself master of constitutional 
law, when it was hardly known as a science either in England or in this country. He 
was born on the sixteenth of March, 1751, and, of course, was in all the ardor and 
freshness of youth on the breaking out of the revolution. In 1775, Mr. Madison was 
a member of the legislature of Virginia, and at that early age, was distinguished for his 
maturity of understanding and sage prudence. He was soon appointed one of the coun- 
cil of the state. During the whole eventful struggle, James Madison had the confidence 
of the state of Virginia ; and, as a member of her legislature, was listened to with pro. 
found attention when he brought forward sundry resolutions for the formation of a gene- 
ral government for the United States, based upon the inefficiency of the old confedera- 
tion. From these resolutions grew a convention of delegates from the several states, 
who, in conclave, prepared a form of a constitution to be submitted to the several states 
for their discussion, approbation, and adoption. Mr. Madison was a member of this con- 
vention, as a delegate from Virginia, and took an active part in the deliberations of that 
enlightened body, of which Washington, his colleague, was president. On the adoption 
of this constitution— a wonderful era in the history of the liberties of man — Mr. Madi- 
Bon was elected a member of the first Congress, and took an active part in setting the 
machinery in motion. At this period public opinion was greatly agitated by the crude 



ORANGE COUNTY. 423 

and false opinions scattered through the country, through the medium of tlie opposition 
presses ; this was grievous to the friends of the constitution, and three mighty minds, 
Jay, Hamilton, and Madison, formed a holy alliance to enlighten the people upon the 
great doctrines of the constitution, and breaking through the host of the Philistines, drew 
the pure waters of truth for the good of the people. The essays from the pens of these 
worthies, were collected ia a volume, called the Federalist, which now stands a monu- 
ment of the wisdom and patriotism of that age. In the debates of the first Congress, 
Mr. Madison took a large share. It was an illustrious assemblage of patriots, among 
whom there often arose a difference of opinion in regard to political policy, but all were 
lovers of their country, and laboring for her best interests. Here Mr. Madison acted 
with the Cabots and the Ames' of the east, in perfect harmony. It was reserved for 
an after age to feel the withering effects of party feuds. These were hardly discovered 
as long as the father of his country filled the presidential chair. In the administration 
of his successor, a separation into parties took place, and Mr. Madison ranked himself 
on the side of Mr. Jefferson and his party. During the presidency of Mr. Jefferson, Mr. 
Madison was secretary of state, and sustained that office with singular ability. He held 
a ready pen, had a clear, philosophical perception of the great principles on which the 
government professed to act, and could readily produce a defence of the course pursued. 
No secretary ever did, or ever will do more by force of argument, than Mr. Madison, 
while supporting the measures of Mr. Jefferson. 

In March, 1809, Mr. Madison became President of the United States. It was a 
stormy period. France and England, in their fierce struggles for mastery, forgot the 
rights of neutral nations, and outraged our independence. Insult followed insult from 
both countries, for the three first years of his administration ; but he was, from the very 
elements of his nature, inclined to peace, and had not urged preparations for war. In 
1812, war was declared, without preparation, and the executive of the United States had 
a difficult task to perform. A powerful part of the people were opposed to the war, 
some for one reason, and some for another, and it required no small degree of moral 
courage, to steer the ship of state at such a crisis. Mr. Madison was not a military 
chieftain, and took no pleasure in the glories of a victory, no further than they were 
beneficial to the interests of his country ; but his moral courage was of the highest or- 
der, that which arises from a consciousness of an intention of doing good. There cart 
be no doubt but that so sagacious a statesman as Mr. Madison, saw some of the bless- 
ings that were to flow to his country from the evils of war. He knew that nations, at 
times, hold incorrect opinions, and that the rude shocks of war are the only remedies for 
these errors. The war had its dark and bright spots on the tablets of fame, but its re- 
sults were altogether fortunate. The necessity of a navy for national honor and protec- 
tion, anchored itself into the firm bosom of every patriot, with such a hold as to ride out 
every billow and whirlwind of faction. By this war we were taught that no nation could 
ever claim to be independent, whose resources were confined to agriculture and com- 
merce alone. By this war we became a manufacturing people to a respectable extent ; 
but there was as much opposition to this as there was to the war. This goes to show, 
that it is beyond human reason to foresee what may be best ; but all will agree that there 
should always be wisdom and honesty at the head of our people, to make the most ju- 
dicious use of every event. 

In 1817, when the reign of peace was established, Mr. Madison retired to his farm ta 
enjoy the serenity of rural life ; but here he has not been idle. On the death of Mr. 
Jefferson, he was made chancellor of the University of Virginia, and, as well as his pre- 
decessor, took a deep interest in the prosperity of the institution. When Virginia called 
a convention to alter her constitution, Mr. Madison, with Chief-Justice Marshall and 
Mr. Monroe, were found among the sages who had witnessed the birth of that constitu- 
tion, and were well acquainted with its excellences and defects, and were good judges 
of the best forms of amendment. Several years ago, a bookseller at Washington got up 
an edition of the debates in the several conventions called by the states in 1787 and 1788,, 
to deliberate on the adoption of the constitution of the United States. Mr. Madison took. 
a lively interest in this publication, and afforded the editor all the information that he- 
possessed upon the subject. 

Mr. Madison was unquestionably the leading member in the Virginia convention,, 
called for the adoption of the constitution of the United States, although there were 
several distinguished men among them. This body was fortunate enough to have em- 
ployed a reporter of eminence for the occasion, which was not the case in many other 
states ; and what the Virginia reporter did not put down in his notes, Mr. Madison's 
minutes and recollections most readily supplied. 



424 ' PAGE COUNTY. 

In the convention he had to meet the blaze of Patrick Henry's eloquence, the subtle 
arguments of Mason, and the chilling doubts of Monroe ; but all were overcome by the 
clearness of his views, and the force of his reasonings. Mr. Madison was not an orator 
in the common acceptation of the word ; there were no deep tones in his voice ; no 
flashes of a fierce and commanding eye ; no elegant gestures to attract the beholder ; 
all was calm, dignified, and convincing. It was the still, small voice, in which the ora- 
cles of God were communicated to the prophet. He never talked for the love of display, 
but simply to communicate his thoughts. He spoke often in debate, when earnest in 
his cause, but was always heard with profound attention ; not a word of his speeches 
was lost. He was so perfectly master of his subject, that he had nothing to correct in 
a retrospective view of it, and was so well understood that he had nothing to explain. 
His voice was deficient in volume, but it was so well modulated, that its compass was 
more extensive than that of many speakers of stronger lungs. His conversation was 
truly a charm. He was familiar with most topics, and he loved both to communicate 
and receive information. He lived in times when men grew up with strong prejudices 
and partialities ; but his most familiar guests seldom heard a sentence tinged with them, 
either at his table or fireside. For nearly twenty years he had been daily preparing for 
the change of worlds, and at last sunk into the arms of death in as peaceful a sleep as 
a babe on the bosom of his mother. Nature and religion had cured him of all fears of 
the grave ; he had no dread of what " dreams might come when he had shuffled off this 
mortal coil." He had no enmities to settle, for he had quarrelled with no one ; he had 
no slanders to forgive, for no one ever traduced him. His history contains, indeed, a 
miracle, for there has not been one of mortal, or of immortal birth, who has acted a con- 
spicuous part on this earth, but James Madison, whose private reputation has not been 
assailed. 



The late Gov. James Barbour, and the late Judge Philip Pendle- 
ton Barbour, the sons of Col. Thomas Barbour, were born at the 
family seat near Montpelier. 

James Barbour " held the highest trusts in Virginia, as speaker of the House of 
Delegates, governor of the state, and senator in Congress. Under the general govern- 
ment he sustained with ability the offices of secretary of war and minister to Great 
Britain. His political career was a distinguished one, and his character in life secured 
the esteem of all who knew him. He died June 8th, 1842, aged sixty-six." 

Philip Pendleton Barbour " was distinguished for his talents, and was indebted to his 
professional and political eloquence for his success in life. He was a member of Con- 
gress from 1814 to 1825 ; in 1821 he was elected speaker of the House of Representatives ; 
in 1825 he was appointed a judge of the Virginia court ; in 1827 he became again a mem- 
ber of Congress, and served three sessions. In 1836 he was appointed by President 
Jackson an associate judge of the supreme court of the United States. He died sud- 
denly, February 25th, 1841, at Washington city, of ossification of the heart, aged about 
sixty." 



PAGE. 



Page county was formed in 1831, from Rockingham and Shenan- 
doah, and named from John Page, governor of Virginia from 1802 
to 1805. The county is 34 miles long, with a mean width of 11 
miles, and consists of one entire valley, with the Shenandoah 
running its whole length through it, from n. to s., and the Blue 
Ridge lying on the east, and the Fort or Massanuttin mountain on 
the west. These mountains ever present a beautiful and pictu- 
resque appearance, whether viewed robed in the snow, ice, and 
clouds of winter, the refreshing green of summer, or the gorgeous 
hues of autumn. The soil of Page is generally of the best quality 



PAGE COUNTY. 425 

of limestone valley land ; a very considerable portion is bottom, lying 
on the Shenandoah River, and Hawksbill, and other creeks. The 
mineral wealth of the county is great; iron abounds, and copper, 
lead, magnesia, and beautiful marble, are found in many places. 
Population in 1840, whites 5,195,, slaves 781, free colored 216; 
total, 6,194. 

Luray, the county-seat, is 130 miles nw. from Richmond, and 96 
from Washington. It is situated on the Hawksbill creek, near the 
centre of the county. The first house was built here in 1814. It 
now contains several mercantile stores, 2 or 3 churches, and a 
population of about 500. About one mile west of the town of 
Luray, is a cave which is but little inferior in extent, beauty, and 
magnificence, to Weyer's cave. Its entrance is at the top of a 
small mountain called Cave Hill, and not being very accessible, 
is not much vipited. The most splendid apartments in it are Con- 
gress and Masonic Halls. From a published description of the 
cave by those who first explored it, we extract the following, rela- 
tive to these beautiful rooms: 

Congress Hall. — After descending, as we supposed, about a quarter of a mile, the 
passage became very straight and smooth, and gradually enlarged until we perceived 
that we stood in front of a room whose dimensions, from the light of our candles, we 
Could not discover. The entrance here, as in the room which we first entered, was ten 
or fifteen feet above the level of the floor. After a few moments, however, by clinging 
to the projections of spar, which here appeared like large icicles, the whole party stood 
safely upon the floor of this great room. Here all the wonder and magnificence of the 
subterranean world burst upon us at once. We found that we stood in a room, the 
area of whose floor was equal to a quarter of an acre. Immediately before us, and 
within a few feet of the centre of the room, arose a vast column, or pillar, in some de- 
gree combining architectural proportions, and running up about thirty feet, and sup- 
porting the dome of this immense hall. This column stands upon a block, or rude 
pedestal, about three feet in height, and the shaft where it rests upon it is about the 
thickness of a man's body. It then swells gradually until it becomes, at the distance 
of twenty feet from its base, about the size of a barrel, whence it continues of the same 
size, until it gradually enlarges into its capital, where it reaches the dome. Strange to 
tell, this vast column is almost as regularly fluted or grooved, as if it had been done 
with the chisel of the sculptor. About fifteen feet from the main pillar stand two 
smaller ones, about ten feet in height, which consequently do not reach the ceiling ; and 
just at their base, and nearly between them, is a small pool or basin of water. We 
perceived by the united glare of all our candles, that the whole of the arch of this im- 
mense hall was hung with the most beautiful stalactites, and variegated with almost 
every possible variety of color. In some places it was perfectly white, then red, gray, 
or yellow, and in others it was as clear and transparent as ice. 

In looking around us towards the lights which were dispersed in different parts of 
the hall, the various small spars or pillars that were pointing up — others that had 
been detached from the ceiling and lay scattered about the floor — and numerous large 
blocks of crystallized limestone, produce novel and almost indescribable feelings. It 
did not require an imagi-nation unusually fervid, to liken this dim picture of the floor to 
the miniature ruins of some great city, with a few of its spires and steeples pointing up 
from the ruins ; or to some mighty temple, with its shattered and broken columns and 
fallen walls, with just sufficient of its materials to show the style of its former magni- 
ficence. 

Masonic Hall. — In this room, about three and a half feet above the level of the floor, 
is a complete wainscot or chairboard, with apparent mouldings and earned work in 
complete relief, and extending in one entire and unbroken circle around the room. la 
the centre of the floor stand three large spars, resembling candlesticks of a mammoth size. 
These candlesticks arise from the floor of the room, with various enlargements and di- 
minutions resembling carved work, until they reach tke exact level of the chairboard, 

54 



426 PATRICK COUNTY. 

when the spar which resembles the candle, and seems to be set into a socket, mns up 
about two feet. As if to make the copy more exact, and the resemblance more palpably 
striking, the candlesticks seem to be of a dusky or bronze color, and the candle or spar 
arising from it of a clear white. The crystallization on the walls of this room is in 
beautiful waves and folds, resembling drapery. At one end of the room, a large spar, 
resembling a bed-post, stood in beautiful relief from the wall, and large folds and waves 
of drapery, resembling curtains, seemed to hide the rest of the bed. 

Here, then, our admiration and astonishment were at their height. Our feelings had 
been wrought up to a degree of almost painful intensity. Here we stood, hundreds of 
feet beneath the surface of the earth, and a full half-mile from the first entrance, tread, 
ing upon a spot and breathing an atmosphere which Jiad not been disturbed since the 
creation of the world. A place in which the human voice had never before been heard, 
and on whose beauties the human eye had never rested. There was, in truth, an aw- 
ful sublimity in the state of our feelings, superinduced not only by what we saw, but in 
part, perhaps, by a contingent danger to which we were exposed. The falling of the 
arch, or the rolling of a single rock into some of the narrow passages which we had to 
retrace, would have shut us up in eternal darkness in this mysterious region of wonders. 

Powell's Fort Valley, on the line of this and Shenandoah county, 
derives its name, says tradition, from an Englishman named 
Powell, who in early times discovered a silver mine in the West 
Fort mountain, and commenced coining money, and when at- 
tempts were made to arrest him, sought shelter in the fastnesses 
of the mountain. Kercheval says : 

The grandeur and sublimity of this extraordinary work of nature, consist in its tre- 
mendous height and singular formation. On entering the mouth of the fort, we are 
struck with the awful height of the mountains on each side, probably not less than a 
thousand feet. Through a very narrow passage, a bold and beautiful stream of water 
rushes, called Passage creek, which a short distance below works several fine merchant 
mills. After travelling two or three miles, the valley gradually widens, and for upwards 
of twenty miles furnishes arable land, and affords settlements for eighty or ninety fami- 
lies, several of whom own very valuable farms. The two mountains run parallel about 24 
or 25 miles, and are called the East and West Fort mountains, and then are merged 
into one, anciently called Mesinetto, now Masinutton mountain. The Masinutton 
mountain continues its course about 35 or 36 miles southerly, and abruptly terminates 
nearly opposite Keisletown, in the county of Rockingham. This range of mountains 
divides the two great branches of the Shenandoah River, called the South and North 
forks. This mountain, upon the whole, presents to the eye something of the shape of 
the letter Y, or perhaps more the shape of the houns and tongue of a wagon. 



A few miles above Luray, [says Kercheval,] on the west side of the river, there 
are three large Indian graves, ranged nearly side by side, thirty or forty feet in length, 
twelve or fourteen feet wide, and five or six feet high : around them, in a circular form, 
are a number of single graves. The whole covers an area of little less than a quarter 
of an acre. They present to the eye a very ancient appearance, and are covered over 
with pine and other forest growth. The excavation of the ground around them is 
plainly to be seen. The three first-mentioned graves are in oblong form, probably con- 
tain many hundreds of human bodies, and were doubtless the work of ages. 



PATRICK. 

Patrick was taken from Henry in 1791. It is 25 miles long, 
with a mean width of 20 ; it is watered by the Dan and its 
branches. The face of the country is broken, and it has the Alle- 
ghany on its western boundary, and the Bull and other mountains 



PATRICK COUNTY. 427 

running across it from e. to w. There is a great diversity of soil ; 
the bottom land on the water-courses is generally of a good qual- 
ity, and a large . portion of the upland, though rocky, is strong. 
On the south side of Bull mountain the staple is tobacco, and the 
land there is cultivated by slaves. Some portions of the county 
are very thinly settled ; but latterly there has been some emigra- 
tion into it, the land being very cheap. Iron ore abounds. Pop. 
in 1840, whites 6,087, slaves 1,842, free colored 103 ; total, 8,042. 

Taylorsville, or Patrick C. H., on Mayo River, 226 miles south- 
easterly from Richmond, contains 40 or 50 dwellings. 

The natural scenery in the mountainous section of this county 
is wild and romantic. A late publication thus describes the pas- 
sage of the Dan down the Alleghany, and " the Bursted Rock :" 

The scenery presented by the passage of Dan River down the mountain, and into the 
flat country, is awful and sublime in the highest degree. The river rises in a plain, 
traverses it for 8 or 10 miles, til! it reaches the declivity of the mountain, dashes down 
it by a rapid succession of perpendicular falls, and winds its solitary way, unapproached 
by any footstep save that of the mountain hunter, and hemmed in on every side by im- 
mense mountains, descending almost perpendicularly to the water's edge for the dis- 
tance of several miles, before its banks afford room for settlements. The Pinnacles of 
Dan are found in this interval. To approach them you must ascend the mountain at 
some convenient gap — upon reaching the top of the mountain, the country becomes 
comparatively level. The visitor goes along the top under the guidance of some moun- 
taineer, who knows the locality of the pinnacles ; he meets with no obstruction except 
fallen logs, and a most luxuriant growth of weeds, till suddenly he reaches the declivity 
of the mountain. An immense basin presents itself to his view, surrounded by lofty 
mountains, almost perpendicular, of which the ridge on which he stands forms a 
boundary. The depth of the basin is beyond his view, and appears to him to be incal- 
culable. From the midst of the basin two pinnacles, in the shape of a sugar loaf, rise 
to a level with the surrounding mountains, and of course with the beholder. They ap- 
pear to be masses of rock rudely piled on each other, with barely soil enough in the 
crevices to nourish a few bushes. There is no visible outlet to the basin, the narrow 
chasm through which the river makes its escape being out of view. If the visitor 
wishes to ascend the main pinnacle, (one being much larger than the other,) he de- 
scends from his station the face of the mountain, which is very steep, to a distance 
which he imagines sufficient to carry him down the highest mountain, — when he 
reaches a narrow ridge or pass-way not more than thirty feet wide, connecting, at the 
distance of thirty or forty yards, the pinnacle to the main mountain, — and to his aston- 
ishment the river appears at an incalculable distance below him. The ascent of the 
pinnacle then commences, and an arduous and somewhat perilous one it is. A narrow 
pathway winds up among the rocks, and in many places the adventurous climber has 
to pull himself up a perpendicular ascent of five or six feet by the bushes. When he 
reaches the top, however, he is amply repaid for his labor in ascending. The prospect, 
though necessarily a limited one, is picturesque and sublime in a high degree. The 
view of the basin is then complete. The mountains surrounding it nearly of a uniform 
height ; no outlet visible, and the beholder perched upon the summit of an immense 
natural pyramid in the centre. The river is seen occasionally as it winds around the 
base of the pinnacle. It attempts to pass on the west side, where the narrow ridge by 
which the visitor approaches arrests its course ; it then winds entirely round the pinnacle 
close to its base, until it comes to the opposite or southern side of the narrow ridge, 
passing between the two pinnacles : it then passes round the western and southern side 
of the smaller pinnacle, and makes its escape as it best can from its apparently hopeless 
imprisonment. The summit of the pinnacle is about twenty or thirty feet square, — and 
strange to relate, small bushes of the aspen grow upon it — which is found nowhere 
else growing wild in this section of country. The echo produced is somewhat remark, 
able. If a gun be fired off on the top of the pinnacle, you hear nothing for several 
seconds, when suddenly, in the direction of the narrow pass through which the river 
flows, a rushing sound is heard, which, although not a correct echo, seems to be the 
sound of the report escaping through the pass. 



428 PENDLETON COUNTY. 

The other natural curiosity to which reference has been made, is " the Bursted Rock," 
which is not very far from the pinnacles, and forms a part of the frowning and sublime 
scenery which overhangs the Dan, in its passage through the mountain. You approach 
it as you do the pinnacle along the level top of the mountain, till suddenly your course 
is arrested by a perpendicular descent of many hundred feet. The face of the precipice 
is a smooth rock. Far below every thing appears in ruins — rocks piled on rocks, the 
timber swept from the earth ; and every appearance indicates that a considerable portion 
of the mountain has been, by some great convulsion of nature, riven and torn from the 
rest, and precipitated into the valley, or rather chasm below. 



PENDLETON. 

Pendleton was formed in 1788, from Augusta, Hardy, and Rock- 
ingham, and named from Edmund Pendleton, president of the Vir- 
ginia convention of 1775. It is 45 miles long, with a mean width of 
22 miles. The country is extremely mountainous, and is watered 
by some of the head branches of the Potomac and the James : the 
level of arable land from whence flow these streams, it is estimated 
must exceed 2,000 feet above the ocean. Over one hundred thou- 
sand pounds of maple sugar are annually produced. Pop. in 1840, 
whites 6,445, slaves 462, free colored 33 ; total, 6,940. 

Franklin, the county-seat, is 171 miles nw. of Richmond, near 
the centre of the county, on the south branch of the Potomac ; and 
contains about 40 dwellings. 

Twelve miles northeast of Franklin, on the south fork of the 
south branch of the Potomac, stood Seybert's fort, in the early set- 
tlement of the country. 

In this fort, in the year 1758, (says Withers,) the inhabitants of what was then called 
the " Upper Tract," all sought shelter from the tempest of savage ferocity ; and at the 
time the Indians appeared before it, there were contained within its walls between thirty 
and forty persons of both sexes and of different ages. Among them was Mr. Dyer (the 
father of Col. Dyer, now of Pendleton) and his family. On the morning of the fatal day, 
Col. Dyer and his sister left the fort for the accomplishment of some object, and although 
no Indians had been seen there for some time, yet did they not proceed far, before they 
came in view of a party of forty or fifty Shawnees, going directly towards the fort. 
Alarmed for iheir own safety, as well as for the safety of their friends, the brother and 
sister endeavored by a hasty flight to reach the gate and gain admittance into the gar- 
rison ; but before they could effect this, they were overtaken and made captives. 

The Indians rushed immediately to the fort and commenced a furious assault on it. 
Capt. Seybert prevailed (not without much opposition) on the besieged to forbear firing 
until he .should endeavor to negotiate with, and buy off the enemy. With this view, 
and under the protection of a flag, he went out, and soon succeeded in making the 
wished-for arrangement. When he returned, the gates were thrown open, and the ene- 
my admitted. 

No sooner had the money and other articles stipulated to be given, been handed over 
to the Indians, than a most bloody tragedy was begun to be acted. Arranging the in- 
mates of the fort in two rows, with a space of about ten feet between them, two Indians 
were selected, who, taking each his station at the head of a row, with their tomahawks 
most cruelly murdered almost every white person in the fort ; some few, whom caprice 
or some other cause induced them to spare, were carried into captivity. Such articles 
as could be well carried away were taken off by the Indians ; the remainder was con- 
sumed, with the fort, by fire. 

From Mr. Samuel Kercheval, the author of the " History of the 



PITTSYLVANIA COUNTV. 429 

Valley," we have obtained the following additional facts relating 
to the attack on this fort : 

The Indians were commanded by the blood-thirsty chief Killbuck. Seybert's son, a 
lad of about fifteen, exhibited great firmness and bravery. He had shot two of the as- 
sailants, when their chief called out in English, that if they surrendered, their lives 
should be spared. At that instant young Seybert was in the act of aiming his rifle at 
Killbuck, when his father seized it from him, observing, " We cannot defend the fort ; 
we must surrender to save our lives !" confiding in the faithless promises of Killbuck. 
The first salutation he received after surrendering, was a stroke in the mouth from the 
monster Killbuck with the pipe end of his tomahawk, dislocating the old man's teeth ; 
immediately after which he was massacred with the other victims. Young Seybert was 
taken off with the other prisoners. He told Killbuck that he had raised his gun to kill 
him, but his father had wrested it from him. The savage laughed and replied, "You 
little rascal, if you had killed me you would have saved the fort ; for had I fallen, my 
warriors would have immediately fled, and given up the siege in despair." 



PITTSYLVANIA. 

Pittsylvania was formed in 1767, from Halifax. It is 35 miles 
long and 26 broad. It is watered by the Staunton on the n., the 
Dan on its s., and Banister River in the centre. Much of the 
soil is excellent, and produces annually over six millions of pounds 
of tobacco, besides heavy crops of grain. Pop. in 1840, whites 
14,283, slaves 11,558, free colored 557 ; total, 26,398. 

Competition, the seat of justice for the county, is situated on a 
branch of Banister River, 162 miles southwesterly from Rich- 
mond. The surrounding country is healthy and fertile, and the 
town itself contains a population of about 300. Danville is a 
large village on the Dan River, 5 miles from the North Carolina 
line, and 15 south of Competition. It was established by law 
in 1793, on the land of "John Barnett, adjoining Winn's Falls." 
By the provisions of the act, Thomas Tunstale, Matthew Clay, 
William Harrison, John Wilson, Thomas Fearne, George Adams. 
Thomas Worsham, Robert Payne, James Dix, John Southerland, 
John Call, and Thomas Smith, were appointed trustees to lay off 
the town into lots of half an acre each, with convenient streets. 
Danville contains 7 mercantile stores, 2 tobacco inspections and 
warehouses, 4 tobacco factories, 2 banks, 1 male, 1 public, and 1 
private female academy, 1 oil, 2 flour, and 2 saw-mills, 2 iron 
foundries, 1 newspaper printing-office, 18 mechanic shops, 1 Pres- 
byterian, 1 Baptist, 1 Episcopal, and 1 Methodisi church, and a 
population of about 1500. The canal of the Roanoke Company, 
around the falls of the Dan River, is about one mile long, which 
affords eligible sites for manufactories to almost any extent, with 
abundance of water-power at all seasons. The river is navigable 
for batteaux carrying from 7,000 to 10,000 pounds, as far up as 
Madison, in North Carolina, 40 miles distant. With some slight 
improvements, the river is supposed to be susceptible of steamboat 
navigation to the town. 



430 POWHATAN COUNTY. 



POCAHONTAS. 



Pocahontas was formed in 1821, from Bath, Pendleton, and Ran- 
dolph, and named from the Indian princess : its mean length is 40 
and mean width 18 miles. Cheat, Gauley, and Greenbrier Rivers 
rise in the county, which is one of the most elevated in Virginia. 
The surface is very broken and mountainous ; the southern part is 
tolerably productive, but towards the northeast the land is more 
barren. Pop. in 1840, whites 2,684, slaves 219, free colored 19 ; 
total, 2,922. 

Huntersville, the county-seat, is 190 miles nw. of Richmond, be- 
tween Greenbrier and Alleghany mountains, on Knapp's creek, 6 
miles from its junction with Greenbrier River, and at an elevation 
of over 1800 feet above the Atlantic. It contains an incorporated 
academy, 2 or 3 religious societies, and about 30 dwellings. 
" Eighteen miles from Huntersville, on Elk Ridge, a very high 
mountain, is a circular hole of about 70 feet diameter, which is 
considered a curiosity, its waters being perfectly black and of a 
bituminous taste : it is called ' the black hole.' It is said if wooden 
poles are thrust in, they will sink to rise no more." 



POWHATAN. 

Powhatan was formed in 1777, from Cumberland. Its greatest 
length is 25, and its greatest width 15 miles. The soil is various ; 
much, however, is fertile. The James and Appomattox — bounding 
two sides of the county at full length — wdth their numerous 
branches afford much fertile low ground. Clover and plaster have 
been much used in agriculture within a few years. There are 
some coal-mines in the county, but the distance to market has pre- 
vented their being worked advantageously. Pop. in 1840, whites 
2,432, slaves 5,129, free colored 363; total, 7,924. Scottville, or 
Powhatan C. H., lies in the central part of the county, 32 miles 
w. of Richmond, and contains about 20 dw^ellings. It was named 
from Gen. Chas. Scott, a distinguished officer of the revolution, 
and afterwards governor of Kentucky. A traveller who was here 
in 1781, says that it then consisted of "only two mean huts, one 
for the purpose of holding the sessions, the other by way of public 
house." Smithsville and Jefferson contain each a few dwellings. 

In the lower end of this county, about 3 miles from Manakin Town Ferry, on James 
River, and 17 miles above Richmond, in a healthy and pleasant locaHty, is Howard's 
Spring. The waters are something of the character of those of the White Sulphur of 
Greenbrier, although not so thoroughly impregnated. From its favorable location, it is 
hoped that this spring will ere long be opened as a watering-place ; in which case, it 
will doubtless secure public favor. It has long been favorably known, and visited with 
great benefit by invalids of the surrounding country. 

This county, near Manakin Town Ferry, was settled by Hugue- 



PRESTON COUNTY. 431 

nots, (after the revocation* of the edict of Nantz in 1685,) many 
of whose descendants still remain in that section of Powhatan, 
and the adjacent parts of Chesterfield ; as the Subletts, the Mi- 
chauxs, the Bernards, the Martins, the Flourneys, &c. Near Kes- 
wick, the seat of Major John Clarke, runs Bernard's creek, which 
takes its name from the Huguenot family of Bernard, who settled 
near its banks. The Manakin tribe of Indians inhabited this 
county, and near, or on the land given to the Huguenots, they had 
a town. Mr. Edward Scott's residence is said to be near the site 
of that town, and it is his ferry across the James River that goes 
by the name of the Manakin Town Ferry. Beverly, in his History 
of Va., published in 1722, thus speaks of these early settlers : 

The French refugees, sent in thither by the charitable exhibition of his late majesty 
King William, are naturalized by a particular law for that purpose. In the year 1699, 
there went over about 300 of these, and the year following about 200 more, and so on, 
until there arrived in all between 700 and 800 men, women, and children, who had fled 
from France on account of their religion. Those who went over the first year were 
advised to seat on a very rich piece of land about 20 miles above the falls of James 
River, on the south side of the river ; which land was formerly the seat of a great and 
warlike nation of Indians called Monacans, none of which are now left in those parts ; 
but the land still retains their name, and is still called the Monacan Town. The refu- 
gees that arrived the second year went also to the Monacan Town, but afterwards, upon 
some disagreement, several dispersed themselves up and down the country ; and those 
that have arrived since have followed their example, except some few that likewise set- 
tled at Monacan Town. 

The Assembly was very bountiful to those that remained at this town, bestowing on 
them large donations, money, and provisions for their support. They likewise freed 
them from every public tax for several years to come, and addressed the governor to grant 
them a brief, to entitle them to the charity of all well-disposed persons throughout the 
country ; which, together with the king's benevolence, supported them very comfortably 
till they could sufficiently supply themselves with necessaries, which they now do indif- 
ferently well, and have stocks of cattle and hogs. 

In the year 1702, they began an essay of wine, which they made of the wild grapes 
gathered in the woods ; the effect of which was strong-bodied claret, of good flavor. I 
heard a gentleman who tasted it give it great commendation. Now if such may be 
made of the wild vine in the woods, without pruning, weeding, or removing it out of the 
shade, what may be produced from a vineyard skilfully cultivated ? But I don't hear 
that they have done any thing since, being still very poor, needy, and negligent. 

Gen. Wm. H. Ashley, of St. Louis, was born in Powhatan county. About the year 
1810, being then a poor boy, he emigrated to Missouri, (then Upper Louisiana,) and 
settled near the lead mines. In 1822, he projected the scheme of the " mountain 
expedition," by uniting the Indian trade in the Rocky Mountains with the hunting and 
the trapping business. He enlisted about 300 hardy men in the business, and after 
various successes and reverses, he and his associates realized handsome fortunes. He 
also rose to considerable political distinction, and was the first lieutenant-governor of 
Missouri after its admission into the Union, and a M. C. in 1831-3. He died in 1838, 
greatly respected for his great enterprise, talents, and worth of character. 

Dr. Branch T. Archer, president of the convention which formed the constitution oi 
TexEis, and late secretary of war in that republic, was born in Powhatan. 



PRESTON. 

Preston was formed in 1818, from Monongalia, and named from 
James P. Preston, a meritorious officer in the late war with Great 
Britain, and governor of Virginia from 1816 to 1819. Its mean 



432 PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY. 

length is 30 miles, and mean breadth 17 miles. Cheat River passes 
through the county. The general face of the country is mountain- 
ous, interspersed, on the eastern and western sides, with large 
natural meadows called " glades," which afford support for large 
herds of cattle in summer, and in winter also, when it is mown 
and cured for food. The glades are destitute of timber, but are 
covered in summer with grass and weeds, with frequent projecting 
points of timber, low bushes, &c. The bottom grounds are small 
but productive, and many of the hill-sides are favorable to grain. 
Slate and limestone are common ; the county is abundantly sup- 
plied with bituminous coal, and iron ore is often found. Popula- 
tion in 1840, whites 6,743, slaves 91, free colored 30 ; total, 6,866. 
Kingwood, the county-seat, is 284 miles nw. of Richmond, on a 
beautiful and healthy eminence, 2 miles west of Cheat River, 20 
from Morgantown, 43 from Clarksburg, and 60 from Beverly. It 
contains several stores, and about 30 dwellings. The German 
settlement is 18 miles southeasterly from Kingwood. 



PRINCE EDWARD. 

Prince Edward was formed in 1753, from Amelia. It is 35 
miles long, mean breadth 12 miles. The Appomattox runs on its 
northern boundary, and with its branches, waters the county. 
The soil is much like that in this section of the state, naturally 
good ; but injured by continual culture, without any regard to sys- 
tem. Marl, coal, and copper ore, are found in the county. Pop. in 
1840, whites 4,923, slaves 8,576, free colored 570 ; total, 14,069. 

Farmsville is situated 70 miles southwesterly from Richmond, 
on the northern border of the county, on the Appomattox. It was 
established by law in 1798, on the property of Judith Randolph ; 
and Charles Scott, Peter Johnson, John Randolph, Jr., Philip Hol- 
comb, Jr., Martin Smith, Blake B. W. Woodson, and Creed Taylor, 
were appointed trustees to lay off the town into half acre lots. 
Farmsville is now a place of considerable commercial import- 
ance ; iiS trade is drawn from Halifax, Lunenburg, Charlotte, 
Nottoway, and a part of Campbell. It is at the head of batteau 
navigation on the Appomattox, although boats can go up much 
higher. It is the fourth tobacco market in Virginia ; and the 
quality of its tobacco is nowhere surpassed. It contains 2 to- 
bacco warehouses. 10 tobacco factories, 7 or 8 mercantile stores, 
a branch of the Farmers' Bank, 1 newspaper printing-office, 1 
Presbyterian, 1 Methodist, and 1 Baptist church, and a population 
of about 1400. The navigation of the Appomattox is good at all 
seasons, and its navigation from this place to Petersburg gives 
employment to about 40 batteaux, carrying from 5 to 7 tons each, 
of the products of the country. Prince Edward C. H., Jamestown, 
and Sandy River Church, are small places in the county. 

" Hampden Sydney College originated in an academy in 



PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY. 433 

Prince Edward county, established by the presbytery of Hanover, 
which was afterwards incorporated as a college. The circum- 
stances leading to the establishment of the academy were these : 
As Virginia was first settled by members of the Church of Eng- 
land, and the emigration of dissenters not encouraged, it was 
more than a hundred years ere they were found in any consider- 
able numbers. Some years previous to the revolutionary war, the 




Hampden Sydney College. 

Rev. Samuel Davies, of Hanover county, in conjunction with 
others, formed the presbytery of Hanover. The principal mass 
of Presbyterians then in lower Virginia was in Prince Edward 
and the neighboring counties, among whom were some French 
Huguenots. In a few years, as they increased in numbers, they 
determined to establish a seminary, to be conducted on Presbyte- 
rian principles ; William and Mary, the only college in the state, 
being fostered particularly by the Episcopalians. The academy 
was accordingly established in Prince Edward, at a point conve- 
nient for the Presbyterians of Virginia and North Carolina."* This 
institution was founded in 1774, and was called the Academy of 
Hampden Sydney. "It was chartered in 1783, and received its 
present name from those two martyrs of liberty, J. Hampden and 
A. Sydney. It was established, and has ever been supported, by 
the private munificence of public-spirited individuals. It has an 
elevated, healthy, and pleasant situation, one mile from the court- 
house, and 80 from Richmond. Although the institution has had 
to encounter many difficulties for want of funds, yet it has gen- 
erally been in successful operation, and has educated upwards of 
2,000 young men ; many of whom have been of eminent useful- 
ness, and some of great abilities. More instructors have emana- 
ted from this institution than from any other in the southern 

* Ruffner's ms. History of Washington College. 

55 



* V 



434 PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY. J 

i 

country. Connected with the college is a literary and philosophi- "^ 
cal society, and an institute of education. There are also sev- « 
eral societies among the students, which are of great assistance ^ 
to them in the prosecution of their studies. The legislative gov- 
ernment of the college is vested in 27 trustees, who fill up vacanev^ 
cies in their own body. By the census of 1840, this institutioniQ!! 
had 65 students, and 8000 volumes in its library." t 

The presidents of Hampden Sydney have been — Rev. S. S. "^ 
Smith, 1774 ; Rev. J. B. Smith, 1779 to 1789 ; presidents joro tem.> 
to 1797 ; Rev. A. Alexander, D. D., 1797 to 1806 ; Rev. M. Hoge,^ 
D. D., 1807 to 1820 ; J. P. Gushing, A. M., 1821 to 1835 ; Daniel 
Carroll, D. D., 1836 ; William Maxwell, LL. D., 1839 to 1844. ,,. 

The Union Theological Seminary is located in the immediate "" 
vicinity of Hampden Sydney College. " The institution had 
its origin in efforts made by the presbytery of Hanover and 
the synod of Virginia, as early as 1812, to give their candidates 
for the ministry a more complete theological education. It did 
not, however, go into operation in a regular form until the year 
1824." In 1841-'42 it had 3 professors, 20 students, 175 graduates, 
and a carefully-selected library of about 4000 volumes. The 
Theological Seminary, and Hampden Sydney College, have spa- 
cious and showy brick buildings, sufficient to accommodate a large 
number of students. 

The Rev. Moses Hoge, President of Hampden Sydney College, was one of the 
most able and venerable clergymen of the Virginia church ; and his memory is now 
cherished with peculiar afFection by many in the south. During a long life of clerical 
service, he maintained a character among the best and greatest men in that country, 
for sagacity, theological learning, sound judgment, patriarchal simplicity, and unaffected 
meekness and humility. As a preacher, he was not eloquent, in the usual acceptation 
of the word ; that is, he was far from the artificial elegancies of rhetoric ; but his fervor 
of devotion and of argument often burst forth in a glow and flame which enkindled whole 
assemblies. This, together with the sanctity of his manners, made him a great favorite 
with John Randolph, who often rode many miles to hear him, and often spent much time 
in conversing with him on religious subjects. The widow of Dr. Hoge is now living, at an 
advanced age, in Charlotte. Three of his sons became ministers. Of these, the eldest, 
the Rev. James Hoge, D. D., of Columbus, Ohio, is one of the most distinguished men 
in the Presbyterian church. Dr. Moses Hoge was universally respected by his brethren, 
as a counsellor and an example ; indeed, it would be difficult to name a man of his pro- 
fession who had attained to more remarkable mildness, uprightness, or benevolence. 
He died in the city of Philadelphia, and his remains were buried in the church-yard of 
the Third Presbyterian Church, Pine-street. 

Among the Presbyterian clergy of Virginia, an eminent place is due to the late Rev. 
John Holt Rice, D. D. He was born in Bedford county, Nov. 28, 1777, and died in 
Ffince Edward, Sept. 2, 1831. He was graduated at Washington College, and was 
afterwards a tutor in Hampden Sydney, where he was the intimate friend of such men 
as Speece, Alexander, and Lyle. He was the founder of the Union Seminary, at the 
head of which he passed his last years. For a portion of his life he labored among the 
negro slaves ; and the fruits of this remain, in great numbers who not only believe in 
Christ, but are well instructed in the reading of the Scriptures, and are in regular con- 
nection with the Presbyterian church. Dr. Rice's years of prime were spent as a pastor, 
in Richmond. Here he was successful in a high degree, both as a preacher and an 
author. The Evangelical and Literary Magazine was under his editorial care, and its 
most valuable contents are from his pen. ' 

Dr. Rice was characterized by great independence of mind. He abjured all human 
authority, and was bold in the expression of his views. Yet he was " swift to hear, 
slow to speak." His thirst for knowledge was insatiable, and his learning was in pro- 



PRIKCESa ANNE COUNTY. 435 

poTtlon ; but It was the wide range, rather than the minute accuracy of his erudition, 
which was remarkable. As a writer, he greatly surpassed most of his coevals in ease, 
fertility, and force. By frequent journeys through the northern and eastern states, he 
iiberalized his views, enjoying valuable intercourse with the first minds in New England, 
especially with the professors at Andover and New Haven ; yet, from first to last, he 
was a thorough-paced, enthusiastic Virginia patriot. He was an American of the old 
stamp, loving and admiring his country with the fervor of a youthful passion ; and he 
transferred the same regards to the church of which he was an ornament and a cham- 
pion. His letters to Mr. Madison, and his correspondence with Bishop Ravenscroft, 
may be adduced in proof. As a pulpit orator, Dr, Rice was not graceful or mellifluous ; 
but he was more — he was luminous, instructive, convincing, persuasive, and elevating. 
His greatest discourses, like those of Robert Hall and John M. Mason, were unwritten. 
In these, as in his life, he evinced the truth, purity, uprightness, and benevolence of the 
Gospel. Though naturally irascible, he became an example of meekness, and overcame 
evil with good. His favorite maxim was, Love is Power. There are thousands in Vir- 
ginia to whom this meager notice will seem far below the truth. Dr. Rice's life was 
written by Wm. Maxwell, LL.D. (Phil. 1835, one vol. 12mo.) " " -. 



When Tarleton was in this county, in the revolution, he passed near the residence of 
Joshua Davison, a gallant dragoon of Lee's legion, who, having received a severe wound 
in the sword-arm at the Guilford C. H., returned home to recruit. Davison resolved to 
have a look at the enemy, and, loading an old squirrel-gun, set out in search for them. 
He followed on their trail a short distance, when he was perceived by a British dragoon, 
who, rapidly advancing, drew his sword and exclaimed, " Surrender immediately, you 
rebel rascal, or you die I" " Not so fast, my good friend," replied Davison, " I am not 
prepared to yield ;" when, raising his squirrel-gun with his left hand, he shot him dead, 
and seized and carried off his horse and plunder in triumph. Some time after, on being 
asked if he was satisfied with killing a single man, " By no means," he replied : " I re- 
loaded my piece and went in pursuit ; but my firing had excited such alarm, and Tarle- 
ton fled with such expedition, that I never could have overtaken him, or I would have 
had another shot."* 



There died in this county, in 1819, a slave named Wonder Booker, belonging to George 
Booker, Esq., who had reached his 126th year. *' He received his name from the cir- 
cumstance that his mother was in her 58th year at the time of his birth. He was of 
great strength of body, and his natural powers, which were far superior to those of peo- 
ple of color in general, he retained in a surprising degree. He was a constant laborer 
in his master's garden until within eight or ten years of his death." 



PRINCESS ANNE. 

Princess Anne was formed in 1691, from Norfolk county. It is 
30 miles long, with a mean breadth of 12 miles : it has the Atlan- 
tic Ocean on the e., and Chesapeake Bay on the n. Cape Henry 
forms its northeastern angle, and Back Bay, a branch of Currituck 
sound, sets up in its south part. The county is drained by North 
River and the east branch of the Elizabeth. Pop., whites 3,996, 
slaves 3,087, free colored 202 ; total, 7,285. 

Princess Anne C. H., situated near the centre of the county, 132 
miles SE. of Richmond, contains about 20 dwellings. Kempsville, 
10 miles southeasterly from Norfolk, on the eastern branch of 
Elizabeth River, contains about 30 dwellings. Large quantities 
of lumber, navy timber, staves, wood, &c., are sent from this place 
by water to Norfolk. 

* Garden's Anecdotes of the Revolution. 



436 PRINCESS ANNE COUNTY. 

The record here given of the trial of Grace Sherwood for witch' 
craft, was presented by the late J. P. Gushing, president of Hamp- 
den Sydney College, to the Virginia Historical and Philosophi- 
cal Society, and published in their collections. While it throws 
some light on the state of society of that time, it evinces that per- 
secution for witchcraft was not alone in our country confined to 
the Puritans of New England. There, it will be recollected, was 
shown a noble example of the strength of moral principle on the 
part of the accused, for they had only to declare themselves guilty 
and their lives were spared. Rather than do this, many suffered 
death. Grace Sherwood met a milder fate. The place where she 
was ducked is a beautiful inlet making up from Lynnhaven Bay, 
which to this day is called ^^WitcKs Duck." 

RECORD OF THE TRIAL OF GRACE SHERWOOD, IN 1705, PRINCESS ANNE COUNTY, FOR 

WITCHCRAFT. 

Princess Anne ss. 

At a Court held ye: 3d. of Janry: 170|- p. Gent: Mr. Bene: Burro: Collo: 
Moseley, Mr. John Cornick Capt: Hancock, Capt: Chapman 

Justices 
Whereas Luke Hill & uxor somd Grace Sherwood to thi.s Court in suspetion of witch- 
craft & she fayling to apear it is therefore ordr. yt: attachmt. to ye: Sherr do Issue to 
attach her body to ansr. ye. sd: som next Court. 

Princess Anne ss. 

At a Court held ye. 6th: ffebry: 170| p: Esent. Colo. Moseley, Collo. Adam 
Thorrowgood Capt: Chapman, Capt. Hancocke Mr. John Cornick, Mr. Rich- 
ason, Came late 

Justices 
Suite for suspition of Witchcraft brought by Luke Hill agt: Grace Sherwood is ordr: 
to be referr till to morro: 

Princess Ann ss. 

At a Court held ye: 7th fFebry: 170|- p. Gent. Collo: Moseley Left: Collo: 
Thorrowgood Mr. John Richason, Mr. John Cornick Capt. Chapman, Capt: 
Hancock 

Justices 
Whereas a Complt: was brought agt: Grace Sherwood upon suspition of witchcraft by 
Luke Hill &c. & ye: matter being after a long time debated & ordr. yt: ye: sd. Hill pay 
all fees of this Complt: & yt: ye: sd. Grace be here next Court to be Searched according 
to ye: Complt: by a Jury of women to decide ye: sd: Differr: aud ye. Sherr: is Likewise 
ordr. to som an able Jury accordingly. 

Princess Ann ss. 

At a Court held ye. 7th March 170f Col: Edward Moseley, Lieut: Adam 
Thorrowgood, Majr. Henry Sprat — Captn: Horatio Woodliouse, Mr. John 
Cornick Capt: Henry Chapman, Mr. Win. Smith, Mr. Jno Richason Captn. 
Geo. Hendcock 

Justices 

Whereas a Complaint have been to this Duq Court by Luke Hill & his wife yt. one 
Grace Sherwood of ye. County was and have been a long time suspected of witchcraft 
& have been as such represented wherefore ye. Sherr. at ye. last court was ordr: som a 
Jury of women to ye. Court to serch her on ye. sd. suspicion she assenting to ye. same 
— and after ye. Jury was impannelled and sworn & sent out to make due inquirery & 
inspection into all cercumstances after a mature consideration they bring in yr. verditt ; 
were of ye. Jury have sercath: Grace Sherwood & have found two things like titis wth: 
severall other spotts — Eliza. Barnes, forewoman, Sarah Norris, Margt. Watkins, Han- 
nah Dimis, Sarah Goodaerd, Mary Burgess, Sarah Sergeent, Winiford Davis, Ursula 
Henly, Ann Bridgts, Exable Waplies — Mary Cotle. 



PRINCESS ANNE COUNTY. 437 

At a court held ye. 2nd. May 1706 Present Mr. Jno. Richason, Maj. Henrey Spratt 
Mr. John Cornick, Capt; Henry Chapman, Mr. Wm Smyth Justices 

Whereas a former Complt. was brought agt Grace Sherwood for suspicion of Witch- 
craft, wth. by ye. attorny Genii: report to his Excly. in Council was to Generall and not 
charging her with any perticular act therefore represented to yem: yt. Princess Ann 
Court might if they thought fitt have her examined de novo &, ye. Court being of opinion 
yt. there is great cause of suspicion doe therefore ordr. yt. ye. Sherr. take ye. said Grace 
into his safe costodj' untill she shall give bond & security for her appearance to ye. next 
Court to be examined De novo & yt. ye. Constable of yt. pr sinkt goe with ye. Sherr: 
&, serch ye. said Graces house & all suspicious places carefully for all Images &. such 
like things as may any way strengthen the suspicion &• it is likewise ordered yt. ye 
Sherr: som an able Jury of women also all evidences as cann give in any thing agt: her in 
evidence in behalf of our Sovereign Lady ye. Qeen to attend ye. next Court accordingly. 

Princess Ann ss. 

At a Court held ye. 6th. June 1706. Present Mr. Jno. Richason : Capt Horatio 
Woodhouse Mr. John Cornick, Capt Henry Chapman, Capt: Wm Smith, Capt: 
Geo: Hancock 

Justices 
Whereas Grace Sherwood, of ye. County have been Complained of as a person sus- 
pected of witchcraft & now being brought before this Court in Crde: for examinacon ye- 
have therefore requested Mr. Maxmt: Bonsh to present informacon agt her as Councill 
in behalf of our sovereign lady ye. Qeen in order to her beihg brought to a regular triall. 
Whereas an Information in behalf of her Mage, was presented by Luke Hill to ye. 
Court in pursuance to Mr. Genell. Attey's Tomson report on his Excellcy: ordr. in 
Councill ye. 1 6th Aprill last about Grace Sherwood being s-uspected of Witchcraft have 
thereupon sworn severall evidences agt. her by wth. it doth very likely appear. 

Princess Anne ss 

At a Court held the 7th: of June 1706. Mr. Jno. Richason, Majr. Henry 

Spratt Mr. John Cornick, Captn: Chapman Captn. Wm Smyth, Capt: Geo: 

Hancock 

Justices 
Whereas at the last Court an ordr. was past yt: ye. Sherr: should sommons an able 
Jury of women to serch Grace Sherwood on suspicion of witchcraft wch: although ye. 
same was performed by ye. Sherr: yet they refused, and did not appear it is therefore 
Ordr. yt. ye. same persons be again somd. by ye. Sherr: for their contempt to be dealt 
wth: according to ye. utmost severity of ye. law, &. yt. a new Jury of women be by him 
somd. to appear next Court to serch her on ye. aforesd. suspicion & yt. He likewise som 
all evidences yt. he shall be informed of as materiall in ye. Complaint & yt. She con- 
tinue in ye. Sherr: Costody unless she give good bond and security for her appearance at 
ye. next Court and yt. she be of good behaviour towards her Majesty & all her leidge 
people in ye. meantime. 

Princess Anne ss 

At a Court held ye. 5th. July Anno Dom: 1706. Present Mr Jno Richason, 
Captn. Jno Moseley Captn. Henry Chapman, Captn Wm: Smyth 

Justices 
Whereas for this severall Courts ye. bussiness between Luke Hill & Grace Sherwood 
on suspicion of Witchcraft have been for severall things omitted particularly for want 
of a Jury to serch her & ye. Court being doubtfull that they should not get one ys. 
Court & being willing to have all means possible tryed either to acquit her or to give 
more strength to ye. suspicion yt. she might be dealt with as deserved therefore It was 
Ordr. yt. ys. day by her own consent to be tryed in ye. water by ducking, but ye. 
weather being very rainy, & bad soe yt. possibly it might endanger her health it is 
therefore ordr. yt. ye. Sherr. request ye. Justices p e. essvly to appear on Wednessday 
next by tenn of ye. Clock at ye. Court-house &. yt. he secure the body of ye. sd. Grace 
till ye. time to be forthcoming yn. to be deaJt wth. as aforesd. 

Princess Ann ss 

At a Court held ye. 10th: July 1706. Present: Col: Moseley, Captn Mose- 
ley Capt: Woodhouse, Mr John Cornick, Capt Chapman Capt: Wm Smyth-— 
Mr. Richason — came late — 

Justices 



438 PRINCESS ANNE COUNTY. 

Whereas Grace Sherrwood being suspected of Witchcraft have a long time waited 
for a fRt upportunity ifor a ffurther exaniinacon & by her consent & approbacon of ye. 
Court it is ordr. yt. ye. Sherr: take all such convenient assistance of boats and men as 
shall be by him thought ffit to meet at Jno. Harpers plantacon in orde. to take ye. sd. 
Grace forthwith & but her into above mans dehth & try her how she swims therein, 
alwayes having care of her life to pe serve her from drowning & as soon as she comes 
out yt. he request as many antient &. knowing women as possible he cann to serch her 
carefully for all teats, Spotts & marks about her body not usuall on others & yt. as they 
find ye. same to make report on oath to ye. truth thereof to ye. Court & further it is' 
ordr. yt. som women be requested to shift &, serch her before she goe into ye. water 
yt. she carry nothing about her to cause any ffurther serspicion. 

(Same Day & only one order between the above order «St the following. [0° I suppose 
the Court which was then held at the Ferry " Jno. Harper's plantation" & about one 
mile from witch duck, went to see this ceremony or trial made J^ Clk:) 

Whereas on complaint of Luke Hill in behalf of her Magesty yt. now is agt. Grace 
Sherrwood for a pe:son suspected of withcraft &. having had sundey: evidences sworne 
agt: her proving many cercumstances & which she could not make any excuse or little 
or nothing to say in her own behalf only seemed to rely on wt. ye. Court should doe 
& thereupon consented to be tryed in ye. water & likewise to be serched againe wth. 
experimts: being tryed & she swiming Wn. therein &- bound contrary to custom & ye. 
Judgts. of all the spectators & afterwards being serched by ffive antient weamen who 
have all declared on oath yt. she is not like ym: nor noe other woman yt. they knew of 
having two things like titts on her private parts of a Black coUer being blacker yn: ye: 
rest of her body all wth: cercumstance ye. Court weighing in their consideracon doe 
therefore ordr. yt. ye. Sherr: take ye. sd. Grace into his costody & to comit her body to 
ye. common Joal of this County their to secure her by irons or otherwise there to re- 
main till such time as he shall be otherwise directed in ordr. for her coming to ye. com- 
mon goal of ye: Countey to be brought to a ffuture tryall there. 

[Copy]* J. J. BURROUGHS, C. C. 

Prs. Anne County Clerk's Office, 15 Sept. 1832. 



In the war of the revolution this county, in common with the 
country around Norfolk, suffered from the enemy. On the 16th of 
November, 1775, a skirmish took place between some militia of 
the county and the enemy, an account of which is subjoined from 
Girardin : 

Hearing that about 200 men of the Princess Anne militia were on their march to join 
the troops destined for the protection of the lower country, Dunmore had proceeded from 
Norfolk at the head of a superior force, composed of regulars, fugitive slaves, and dis- 
affected inhabitants, with a view to intercept that patriotic band. The latter, aware of 
no hostile design, advanced in incautious security to the place of their destination. 
They were unexpectedly attacked, and compelled to engage under the double disadvan- 
tage of an unfavorable ground and inferior numbers. Supported, however, by inherent 
courage, and warmed by the justice of a noble cause, they for some time fought with 
great bravery and execution. At last the combined disadvantages just mentioned com- 
pelled them to retreat, which they did in perfect order. John Ackiss, one of the minute, 
men, was killed on the spot. Col. Hutchings and a Mr. Williams, with seven others, 
were wounded and taken prisoners. t 

In the summer of 1777, the counties of Princess Anne and Nor- 
folk became a prey to the depredations of Josiah Philips and his 
tory-banditti. When pursued, they sought shelter among the dis- 
affected, or fled into their secret haunts in the Dismal Swamp. 

* The copy of the Record in the above case seems to have been made out with great care by the 
clerli. The orthography, abbreviations, and other peculiarities of character, have been preserved in type 
with as much accuracy as possible ; still, in some few instances, it has been found difficult to decipher 
the copy. 

t See Virginia Gazette of this date.— Some of our documents relate this affair rather differently, and 
charge part of the militia with misconduct. Candor demands this remark. 



PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY. 439 

He was finally taken, tried, and executed, m 1778. The facts 
annexed are from Girardin : 

A certain Josiah Philips, laborer, of the parish of Lynnhaven, in the county of Princess 
Anne, a man of daring and ferocious disposition, associating with other individuals of a 
similar cast, spread terror and desolation through the lower country, committing murders, 
burning houses, wasting farms, and perpetrating other enormities, at the bare mention 
of which humanity shudders. Every effort to apprehend him had proved abortive. 
Strong in the number of his ruffian confederates, or, where force would probably fail, 
resorting to stratagem and ambush, striking the deadly blow, or applying the fatal torch 
at the midnight hour, and in those places which their insulated situation left almost 
unprotected, he retired with impunity to his secret haunts, reeking with blood, and loaded 
with plunder. The inhabitants of the counties which were the theatre of his crimes, 
never secure a moment by day or by night, in their fields or their beds, sent representa- 
tions of their distresses to the governor, claiming the public protection. He consulted 
with some members of the legislature then sitting, on the best method of proceeding 
against this atrocious ofFender. Too powerful to be arrested by the sheriff and his posse 
comita.tus, it was not doubted that an armed force might be sent to hunt and destroy 
him and his accomplices, in their morasses and fastnesses, wherever found ; but the 
proceeding concluded to be most consonant with the forms and principles of our govern- 
ment was, to pass, during the present session, an act giving him a reasonable, but limited 
day to surrender himself to justice, and to submit to a trial by his peers according to the 
laws of the land ; to consider a refusal as a confession of guilt, and divesting him, as an 
outlaw, of the character of citizen, to pass on him the sentence prescribed by these laws ; 
and the public officer being defied, to make every one his deputy, especiallv those whose 
safety hourly depended on the destruction of the daring ruffian. The case was laid 
before the legislature. The proofs were ample : his outrages no less notorious than those 
of the public enemy, and well known to the members of both houses from the lower 
countries. No one pretended then that the perpetrator of crimes, who could successfully 
resist the officers of justice, should be protected in the continuance of them by the privi- 
leges of his citizenship ; and that, when he baffled ordinary process, nothing extraor- 
dinary could be rightfully adopted to protect the citizens against him. No one doubted 
that society has a right to erase from the roll of its members any one who renders his 
own existence inconsistent with theirs — to withdraw from him the protection of their 
laws, and to remove him from among them by exile, or even by death, if necessary. An 
enemy in lawful war putting to death in cold blood the prisoner he has taken, authorizes 
retaliation, which would be infficted with peculiar justice on the individual guilty of the 
deed were it to happen that he should be taken. And could the murders and robbery of 
a pirate or outlaw entitle him to more tenderness 1 The legislature passed the law, 
therefore, and without opposition. Philips did not come in before the day prescribed, 
continued his lawless outrages, was afterwards taken in arms, but delivered over to the 
ordinary justice of the country. The attorney-general for the commonwealth, the im- 
mediate agent of the government, waiving all appeal to the act of attainder, indicted 
him at the common law as a murderer and robber. He was arraigned on that indict- 
ment in the usual forms, before a jury of his vicinage, and no use whatever made of the 
act of attainder in any part of the proceedings. He pleaded that he was a British sub- 
ject, authorized to bear arms by a commission from Lord Dunmore ; that he was, there, 
fore, a mere prisoner of war, and under the protection of the law of nations. The court 
being of opinion that a commission from an enemy could not protect a citizen in deeds 
of murder and robbery, overruled his plea. He was found guilty by his jury, sentenced 
by the court, and executed by the ordinary officer of justice ; and all " according to the 
forms and rules of the common law." 



PRINCE GEORGE. 

Prince George was formed in 1702, from Charles City. Its aver- 
age length is about 21, and its breadth about 11 miles. The 
James forms its ne., and the Appomattox its nw. boundary Pop. 



440 PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY. 

in 1840, whites 2,692, slaves 4,004, free colored 469 ; total, 7,175. 
The C. H. is situated near the centre of the county, 28 miles 
southeasterly from Richmond. 

City Point is on the James, at the junction of the Appomattox, 
and although a small village — containing 1 Episcopal and 1 Meth- 
odist church, and about 25 dwellings — is a place of considerable 
importance, being the outport of Richmond and Petersburg. At 
City Point are several wharves projecting into the James, within 
a short distance of which ships of the largest class can float. 
" Not only is a large foreign shipping business done here, but the 
white sails of domestic commerce daily gladden the eye, as it 
passes and repasses this port, freighted, in its progress upwards, 
with the wealth, and productions, and exports of every clime, while 
its return carries to every port of our happy Union the produce of 
our soil and our mines." Besides the ordinary shipping, steam, 
freight, tow, and passage-boats stop here on their way up and 
down the river. City Point is a much better site for a commercial 
town than Richmond, and, it is said, would have been the seat of 
government, had not its owner, a Dutchman, refused to sell on 
any terms. A rail-road also connects this place with Petersburg. 
The Appomattox has latterly been discovered to be navigable for 
vessels of considerable size as far up as Waltham's Landing, half 
way to Petersburg, at which place there is a short branch rail-road, 
lately constructed, connecting with the Petersburg and Richmond 
rail-road. 

John Randolph of Roanoke, there is good reason to suppose, 
was born at Cawson's, in this county, the family seat of his ma- 
ternal grandfather, Theodorick Bland, Sen. The years of his boy- 
hood were passed at Matoax, near Petersburg. 



George Keith Taylor was, we believe, a native of this county. He was a member 
of the legislature in '98 and '99, during the famous discussion of the alien and sedition 
laws, in the advocacy of which he bore a conspicuous part. He was a leader of the 
federal party, and a confederate of John Marshall, whose sister he married. As an ad- 
vocate in criminal cases he was distinguished : his oratorical powers have been described 
as little inferior to those of Patrick Henry ; and, like him, his manner on commencing 
was unprepossessing. In Gilmer's " Sketches and Essays" there is a note which says 
that " Mr. Taylor was one of the most eminent lawyers of his state — acute, profound, 
logical, and persuasive ; of fine wit, of exquisite humor, of brilliant fancy, and of the 
most amiable disposition." 



Col. Theodorick Bland, Jun., a worthy patriot and statesman, and a descendant oi 
Pocahontas, was born in this county about the year 1742. In 1753, when about 11 years 
of age, he was sent to England to be educated, and in 1761 he repaired to Edinburgh to 
study medicine. He was among the first persons from Virginia that devoted themselves 
to the .study of medicine — a profession in that day but little cultivated in the colony, and 
in the improvement of which, from his diligence, he is entitled to the merit of having 
been one of its earliest pioneers. After an absence of about 12 years from America, he 
returned to Virginia, and entered upon the practice of his profession. But he was not 
an indifferent spectator of the political commotions of the day. In December, 1774, in 
writing to a mercantile friend in England, he says, " I should have vested the small 
proceeds in goods, but the present political disputes between these colonies and the 
mother country, which threaten us with a deprivation of our liberties, forbid such a step, 



PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY. 441 

and induce us to exert every nerve to imitate the silkworm, and spin from our own 
bowels, although the web should be our winding-sheet." The battle of Lexington was 
the subject of a patriotic poetical effusion by him. On the 24th of June, 1775, Dr. 
Bland was one of a party of 24 gentlemen who, shortly after the flight of Dunmore, 
removed certain arms from the governor's palace at Williamsburg. In the following 
December he wrote, apparently for publication, certain philippics against Dunmore, in 
which the political corruption and private profligacy of his lordship's character are de- 
picted in the blackest hues. In June, 1776, he was captain of the first troop of Virginia 
cavalry. He was subsequently appointed lieutenant-colonel of horse, and in September, 
1777, joined the main army. From a letter, it would appear that towards the close of 
this year he was a member of the senate of Va. " While in the army, he frequently 
signalized himself by brilliant actions."* In November, 1778, he superintended the 
march of the British troops of convention-made prisoners at Saratoga, to Virginia ; and 
on their arrival, or shortly after, was appointed by Washington to the command of the 
post at Charlottesville. From 1780 to '8.3, he was a member of Congress. In 1781, 
Farmingdale, his residence in Va., was plundered by the enemy. While in Congress he 
manifested his usual spirit and industry in the public cause, particularly in the financial 
department. In 1785 he was appointed, by Gov. Henry, lieutenant of this county. He 
was in that minority in the convention of Va., convened to consult upon the adoption 
of the federal constitution, that believed it repugnant to the interests of the country, 
and therefore voted against its ratification. On its adoption, however, he acquiesced in 
the will of the majority, and was elected to represent his district in the first Congress 
held under the constitution. While serving in that capacity, he died at New York, June 
1st, 1790, aged 48. " In person. Col. Bland was tall — in his latter days corpulent — and 
of a noble countenance. His manners were marked by ease, dignity, and well-bred re- 
pose. In character he was virtuous and enlightened, of exemplary purity of manners 
and integrity of conduct, estimable for his private worth, and respectable for his public 
services. His career was distinguished rather by the usefulness of plain, practical quali- 
fications, than by any extraordinary exhibitions of genius. Animated, from his child- 
hood, by a profound love of country, with him patriotism was not an impulse but a prin- 
ciple. In style, he is fluent and correct, and if sometimes too florid or diffuse, he is at 
others wanting neither in energy of thought nor in elegance of diction. Moderation 
and good temper pervade his correspondence, and it is nowhere sullied by profanity or 
indelicacy."t 

Richard Bland was another of the many prominent Virginians who acted on the 
theatre of the revolution. Wirt, in speaking of him before the war, says he " was one 
of the most enlightened men of the colony. He was a man of finished education, and 
of the most unbending habits of application. His perfect mastery of every fact con- 
nected with the settlement and progress of the colony, had given him the name of the 
Virginian antiquary. He was also a politician of the first class ; a profound logician, 
and was also considered as the first writer in the colony ;" but he was a most ungraceful 
speaker in debate. " He wrote the first pamphlet on the nature of the connection with 
Great Britain, which had any pretension to accuracy of view on that subject ; but it was 
a singular one : he would set out on sound principles, pursue them logically, till he found 
them leading to the precipice which we had to leap ; start back, alarmed ; then resume 
his ground, go over it in another direction, be led again by the correctness of his reason- 
ing to the same place, and again tack about and try other processes to reconcile right 
and wrong ; but left his reader and himself bewildered between the steady index of the 
compass in their hand, and the phantasm to which it seemed to point. Still there was 
more sound matter in this pamphlet, than in the celebrated Farmer's Letters, which 
were really but an ignis fatuus, misleading us from true principle." Mr. Bland was a 
member of Congress from 1774 to 1776 ; he died in 1778. 

* Sketch of Col. Bland, in the History of Va. by J. W. Campbell. 

t The foregoing memoir is abridged from that in the introduction of " The Bland Papers, being a selec- 
tion from the manuscripts of Col. Theodorick Bland, Jr., etc. etc.," edited by Charles Campbell, of Peters- 
burg, and published there, in 1840, by Edmund and Julian C. Ruffin — an octavo volume of about 300 pages, 
and composed principally of an interesting collection of letters written by the first personages in the 
country during the revolutionary era. 

56 



442 PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY. 



PRINCE WILLIAM. 

Prince William was formed in 1730, from Stafford and King 
George. It is about 35 miles long, and 12 wide. The Potomac 
forms its eastern boundary. Pop. in 1840, whites 4,867, slaves 
2,767, free colored 510; total, 8,144. 

Brentsville, the county-seat, is situated 101 miles from Richmond, 
and 33 n. of Fredericksburg, in the heart of the county, at the head 
of Occoquan River. It is a small village, containing 3 stores and 
about 20 dwellings. The county buildings are handsomely situated 
on a public square, containing 3 acres. Thoroughfare and Liberia 
are small places in the county, containing each a few dwellings. 
Dumfries is situated on Quantico creek, near the Potomac. It was 
once the county-seat; but in 1822 the courts were removed to 
Brentsville, and the old court-house is converted into an Episcopal 
church. Dumfries is a very old town, and once had considerable 
commerce ; but from a combination of causes it has gone rapidly 
to decay, and many of the houses have been removed out of town. 

Occoquan, situated near the mouth of a river of the same name, 
was established by law in 1804. It contains a large cotton factory, 
an extensive flouring mill, several stores, and about 40 dwellings. 
A handsome bridge is erected over the river at this place. The 
Occoquan here has a fall of 72 feet in one and a half miles, afford- 
ing excellent sites for manufactories. This is the market for many 
of the most important shad and herring fisheries on the Potomac. 
The scenery around this village is uncommonly picturesque. 

William Grayson died at Dumfries, whither he had come on his way to Congress, 
March 12th, 1790, and his remains were deposited in the family vault, at the Rev. Mr. 
Spence Grayson's. He was first appointed a member of Congress from Virginia, in 
1784, and continued a number of years. " In June, 1788, he was a member of the Vir- 
ginia convention which was called for the purpose of considering the present constitu- 
tion of the United States. In this assembly, rendered illustrious by men of the first 
talents, he was very conspicuous. His genius united with the eloquence of Henry, in 
opposing the adoption of the constitution. While he acknowledged the evils of the old 
government, he was afraid that the proposed government would destroy the liberty of 
the states. His principal objections to It were, that it took from the states the sole right 
of direct taxation, which was the highest act of sovereignty; that the limits between 
the national and state authorities were not sufficiently defined ; that they might clash, in 
which case the general government would prevail ; that there was no provision against 
raising such a navy, as was more than sufficient to protect our trade, and thus would 
excite the jealousy of European powers, and lead to war ; and that there were no ade- 
quate checks against the abuse of power, especially by the president, who was responsi- 
ble only to his counsellors and partners in crime, the members of the senate. After the 
constitution was adopted, Mr. Grayson was appointed one of the senators from Virginia, 
in the year 1789 ; his colleague was Richard Henry Lee. His great abilities were united 
with unlmpeached Integrity." 

Immediately after Dunmore was driven from Gwyn's Island, in July, 1776, he sailed 
up the Potomac to this section of the state. The reception he met with from the in- 
habitants Is thus related by Girardin : 

Ascending the Potomac, he left, on many parts of its banks, hideous traces of pirati- 
cal and depredatory warfare. A little above the mouth of Aquia creek, Mr. William 



PULASKI COUNTY. 443 

Brent's elegant brick house was burnt to the ground. The neighboring militia, seized 
with causeless alarm, retired without opposing the ravages of the lawless freebooters, 
who, after the destruction of the house, were proceeding to burn a valuable merchant 
mill, at a small distance, when 30 of the Prince William miUtia happily arrived, ad- 
vanced with fearless step, and drove them on board. The spirit and bravery of the peo- 
ple of Stafford county in general, amply redeemed, on subsequent occasions, the mo- 
mentary disgrace of that unaccountable panic ; but the circumstance is yet well 
remembered in the environs ; and we have heard more than once, on the very ruins of 
the prostrated edifice, the ludicrous account which the senile garrulity of some among 
the surviving actors in that scene, was ever ready to give. It appears that the Stafford 
militia mistook the detachment from Prince WilHam for Englishmen, and exerted all the 
agility and ingenuity of which they were capable to avoid falling into their hands. Dun- 
more's fleet, consisting of the Roebuck, Mercury, Otter, an armed ship, some gondolas, 
and several tenders, having taken In fresh water, fell down the river on the ensuing day. 
They had, in this expedition, met with a severe gale of wind, which drove on shore 
several small vessels with the friends of the British government on board. These were 
made prisoners, and sent to Williamsburg under an escort. The third regiment and other 
troops had been stationed along the banks of the Potomac, to watch the motions of the 
enemy, while the infant Virginian fleet, consisting of some armed brigs and row-galleys, 
was cruising for them in the bay. The Roebuck aione could protect Dunmore and his 
wretched followers. The expected conflict was prevented by the flight of the foe. The 
excessive heat of the season, the putridity of the water, the scantiness and bad quality 
of the provisions onboard, and the crowded and Inconvenient situation of the people there, 
engendered complicated and malignant diseases, which hourly plunged into a watery 
tomb multitudes of the motley band. Thus, loaded with the execration of the country ; 
defeated in all his schemes of civil discord, and of servile and savage hostility ; hunted 
from station to station by the resentment of an injured people, naturally prone to loyalty, 
gratitude, and attachment ; pursued, as it were, by Heaven and the elements themselves, 
Dunmore, with a wounded and humbled spirit, saw himself reduced to flee from these 
shores, where he had hoped triumphantly to plant the standard of despotism, and to sa- 
tiate his vindictive and haughty passions with the tears and abjection of the feeble, and 
the blood of the brave. After burning such vessels as he was able to spare, to prevent 
their falling Into the hands of the Americans, he steered for Lynnhaven Bay with about 
40 or 50 sail ; and then parting with the miserable companions of his disastrous fate, he 
sent some of them to St. Augustine, under convoy of the Otter, some to Bermuda, some 
to the West Indies, and some to Europe. With the rest, he repaired to Sir P. Parker's 
fleet, and, on the 14th of August, reached Staten Island, where General Howe had 
lately been joined by his brother, and the fleets under convoy of Commodore Hotham, 
and the Repulse. Towards the close of this eventful year, he returned to England in 
the Fowey. 



PULASKI. 

Pulaski was formed in 1839, from Montgomery and Wythe, and 
named from Count Pulaski. It is 23 miles long, with a mean 
width of 18 miles. New River passes through the eastern part, 
and then, curving to the left, with Little River, divides the county 
from Montgomery. The face of the country n. and nvv. of the C. 
H., is generally level and adapted to grain and grazing ; s. and 
SE. of the C, H., it is more broken; yet on and near New River it is 
very fertile and productive in w^heat. There is considerable moun- 
tain land in the county. Beef cattle are at this time the great 
staple of the county ; but horses, swine, sheep, grain, tobacco, and 
hemp, could be produced in the greatest abundance. Population 
in 1840, whites 2,768, slaves 954, free colored 17; total, 3,739. 

Newbern, the county-seat, is on the great stage-route from Bal- 



444 RANDOLPH COUNTY. 

timore to Nashville, Tenn., 222 miles southwesterly from Rich- 
mond, 19 miles from Christiansburg, and 28 from Wythe ville. It is 
the only village in the county, and one of considerable business 
for an inland town : its location is high and airy, giving a fine 
view of the neighboring valleys and mountains. It contains 5 mer- 
cantile stores, 1 Presbyterian and 1 Methodist church, and a popu- 
lation of about 300. Peak Knob, 4 miles south of Newbern, is a 
prominent projection in Draper's mountain, rising about 1,000 feet, 
and presenting from its summit a delightful and extensive land- 
scape. Iron ore exists in abundance in this mountain, and also 
coal of a good quality. In its vicinity are mineral springs, sup- 
posed to possess valuable medicinal qualities. On the north bank 
of New River, near Newbern, there is a bluff called the Glass Win- 
dows, consisting of vertical rocks, nearly 500 feet high, and forming 
the immediate bank of the stream for a distance of four miles. They 
are considered a great curiosity. The face of these rocks is per- 
forated by a vast number of cavities, which no doubt lead to caves 
or cells within the mountain. Some of these cells have been ex- 
plored and found to contain saltpetre, stalactites, and other con- 
cretions. 



RANDOLPH. 

Randolph was formed in 1787, from Harrison. It is 85 miles 
long, with a mean width of 25 miles. This county is made up of 
several parallel ranges of mountains, with their intervening val- 
leys : it is drained by the head-waters of Elk River, and the 
Monongahela. The mountains are covered with the finest timber, 
and abound in coal and iron ore. Much of the soil of the moun- 
tains is rich, and they abound in slate, freestone, and limestone. 
In some parts are small caves having a kind of copperas, which 
is used for a dye; and along some of the water-courses, alum 
projects in icicle-like drops. Salt springs are numerous. Within 
the last twelve years, elk and beaver have been seen in small 
numbers. Randolph is principally a stock-raising county, and 
live stock of every description are annually exported to market. 
Population in 1840, whites 5,799, slaves 216, free colored 193; 
total, 6,208. 

Beverly, the county-seat, is 210 miles nw. of Richmond, 60 s. of 
Morgantown, and 45 se. of Clarksburg. It is situated near Ty- 
gart's Valley River, on a handsome plain, and contains a population 
of about 200. 

An attempt was made as early as 1754, to settle this section of country, by David 
Tygart and a Mr. Files. About this time, " these two men, with their families, arrived 
on the east fork of the Monongahela, and, after examining the country, selected posi- 
tions for their future residence. Files chose a spot on the river, at the mouth of a creek 
which still bears his name, where Beverly has since been established. Tygart settled a 
few miles further up, and also on the river. The valley in which they had thus taken 



RANDOLPH COUNTS. 445 

up their abode, has since been called Tygart's Valley, and the east fork of the Monon- 
gahela, Tygart's Valley River. 

" The difficulty of procuring bread-stuffs for their families, their contiguity to an 
Indian village, and the fact that an Indian war-path passed near their dweUings, soon 
determined them to retrace their steps. Before they carried this determination into 
effect, the family of Files became the victims of savage cruelty. At a time when all 
the family were at their cabin, except an elder son, they were discovered by a party of 
Indians, supposed to be returning from the South Branch, who inhumanly butchered 
them all. Young Files being not far from the house, and hearing the uproar, approached 
until he saw too distinctly the deeds of death which were doing ; and feeling the utter 
impossibility of affording relief to his own, resolved, if he could, to effect the safety of 
Tygart's family. This was done, and the country abandoned by them."* 



A writer in the American Pioneer, Mr. Felix Renick, has given 
some anecdotes of "Big Joe Logston," who lived somewhere in 
this region in the latter part of the last century. " No Kentuckian," 
says he, " could ever, with greater propriety than he, have said, 
'I can out-run, out-hop, out-jump, throw down, drag out, and wHip 
any man in the country."* Big Joe removed from the vicinity of 
the source of the n. branch of the Potomac, to Kentucky, about 
the year 1790, during the prevalence of the Indian wars. Mr. 
Renick gives the following account of a desperate fight which he 
had in that country with two Indians : 

Riding along a path which led into a fort, he came to a fine vine of grapes. lie laid 
his gun across the pommel of his saddle, set his hat on it, and filled it with grapes. He 
turned into the path, and rode carelessly along, eating his grapes ; and the first intima- 
tion he had of danger, was the crack of two rifles, one from each side of the road. One 
of the balls passed through the paps of his breast, which, for a male, were remarkably 
prominent, almost as much so as those of many nurses. The ball just grazed the skin 
between the paps, but did not injure the breast-bone. The other ball struck his horse 
behind the saddle, and he sunk in his tracks. Thus was Joe eased off his horse in a 
manner more rare than welcome. Still he was on his feet in an instant, with his rifle 
in his hands, and might have taken to his heels ; and I will venture the opinion that 
no Indian could have caught him. That, he said, was not his sort. He had never left 
a battle-ground without leaving his mark, and he was resolved that that should not be 
the first. The moment the guns fired, one very athletic Indian sprang towards him 
with tomahawk in hand. His eye was on him, and his gun to his eye, ready, as soon 
as he approached near enough to make a sure shot, to let him have it. As soon as the 
Indian discovered this, he jumped behind two pretty large saplings, some small distance 
apart, neither of which was large enough to cover his body, and, to save himself as 
well as he could, he kept springing from one to the other. 

Joe, knowing he had two enemies on the ground, kept a look-out for the other by a 
quick glance of the eye. He presently discovered him behind a tree loading his gun. 
The tree was not quite large enough to hide him. When in the act of pushing down 
his bullet, he exposed pretty fairly his hips. Joe, in the twinkling of an eye, wheeled, 
and let him have his load in the part exposed. The big Indian then, with a miorhty 
" Ugh !" rushed towards him with his raised tomahawk. Here were two warriors met, 
each determined to conquer or die — each the Goliath of his nation. The Indian had 
rather the advantage in size of frame, but Joe in weight and muscular strength. The 
Indian made a halt at the distance of fifteen or twenty feet, and threw his tomahawk 
with all his force, but Joe had his eye on him and dodged it. It flew quite out of the 
reach of either of them. Joe then clubbed his gun and made at the Indian, thinking to 
knock him down. The Indian sprang into some brush or saplings, to avoid his blows. 
The Indian depended entirely on dodging, with the help of the saplings. At length 
Joe, thinking he had a pretty fair chance, made a side blow with such force, that, mis- 
sing the dodging Indian, the gun, now reduced to the naked barrel, was drawn quite 
out of his hands, and flew entirely out of reach. The Indian now gave another exulting 

* Withers' Border Warfare. 



446 RANDOLPH COUNTY. 

" Ugh !" and sprang at him with all the savage fury he was master of. Neither of them 
had a weapon in his hands, and the Indian, seeing Logston bleeding freely, thought he 
could throw him down and dispatch him. In this he was mistaken. They seized each 
other, and a desperate scuffle ensued. Joe could throw him down, but could not hold him 
there. The Indian being naked, with his hide oiled, had greatly the advantage in a 
ground scuffle, and would still slip out of Joe's grasp and rise. After throwing him 
five or six times, Joe found, that between loss of blood and violent exertions, his wind 
was leaving him, and that he must change the mode of warfare or lose his scalp, 
which he was not yet willing to spare. He threw the Indian again, and without at- 
tempting to hold him, jumped from him, and as he rose, aimed a fist blow at his head, 
■which caused him to fall back, and as he would rise, Joe gave him several blows in 
succession, the Indian rising slower each time. He at last succeeded in giving him a 
.pretty fair blow in the burr of the ear, with all his force, and he fell, as Joe thought, 
pretty near dead. Joe jumped on him, and thinking he could dispatch him by choking, 
grasped his neck with his left hand, keeping his right one free for contingencies. Joe 
soon found the Indian was not so dead as he thought, and that he was making some 
use of his right arm, which lay across his body, and, on casting his eye down, dis. 
covered the Indian was making an effort to unsheath a knife that was hanging at 
his belt. The knife was short, and so sunk in the sheath that it was necessary to 
force it up by pressing against the point. This the Indian was trying to effect, and 
with good success. Joe kept his eye on it, and let the Indian work the handle out, 
when he suddenly grabbed it, jerked it out of the sheath, and sunk it up to the handle 
into the Indian's breast, who gave a death groan and expired. 

Joe now thought of the other Indian, and not knowing how far he had succeeded in 
killing or crippling him, sprang to his feet. He found the crippled Indian had crawled 
some distance towards them, and had propped his broken back against a log, and was 
trying to raise his gun to shoot him, but in attempting to do which he would fall for- 
ward, and had to push against his gun to raise himself again. Joe, seeing that he 
was safe, concluded he had fought long enough for healthy exercise that day, and not 
liking to be killed by a crippled Indian, he made for the fort. He got in about night- 
fall, and a hard-looKing case he was — blood and dirt from the crown of his head to the 
sole of his foot, no horse, no hat, no gun — with an account of the battle that some of 
his comrades could scarce believe to be much else than one of his big stories in which he 
would sometimes indulge. He told them they must go and judge for themselves. Next 
morning a company was made up to go to Joe's battle-ground. When they approached 
it, Joe's accusers became more confirmed, as there was no appearance of dead Indians, 
and nothing Joe had talked of but the dead horse. They, however, found a trail, as if 
something had been dragged away. On pursuing it they found the big Indian, at a 
little distance, beside a log, covered up with leaves. Still pursuing the trail, though not 
so plain, some hundred yards further, they found the broken-backed Indian, lying on 
his back, with his own knife sticking up to the hilt in his body, just below the breast- 
bone, evidently to show that he had killed himself, and that he had not come to hia 
«nd by the hand of an enemy. They had a long search before they found the knife 
with which Joe killed the big Indian. They at last found it forced down into the 
ground below the surface, apparently by the weight of a person's heel. This had been 
done by the crippled Indian. The great efforts he must have made, alone, in that 
condition, show, among thousands of other instances, what Indians are capable of 
under the greatest extremities. 

Some years after the above took place, peace with the Indians was restored. That 
frontier, like many others, became infested with a gang of outlaws, who commenced 
stealing horses and committing various depredations ; to counteract which a company 
of regulators, as they were called, was raised. In a contest between these and the de- 
predators, Big Joe Logston lost his life, which would not be highly esteemed in civil 
society. But in frontier settlements, which he always occupied, where savages and 
beasts were to be contested with for the right of the soil, the use of such a man is 
very conspicuous. Without such, the country could never have been cleared of its 
natural rudeness, so as to admit of the more brilliant and ornamental exercises of arts, 
sciences, and civilization. 



ROANOKE COUNTY. 447 



RAPPAHANNOCK. 

Rappahannock was formed in 1831, from Culpeper. It is named 
from the river which runs on its northern boundary. Its soil is fer- 
tile, and productive in wheat and corn. Length about 18, breadth 
17 miles. Pop. in 1840, whites 5,307, slaves 3,663, free colored 
287 ; total, 9,257. 

Washington, the seat of justice, is 123 miles nw. of Richmond, 
and 75 from Washington city. It is a fine village, near the foot 
of the Blue Ridge, in a fertile country, and upon one of the head 
branches of the Rappahannock. It contains a church, an acade- 
my, 2 stores, and about 60 dwellings. Sperryville, 6 miles s. of 
the C. H., Woodville, 10 miles from it, and Flint Hill, contain 
each about 30 dwellings. 



RITCHIE. 

Ritchie was formed in 1843, from Harrison, Lewis, and Wood, 
and named in honor of Thomas Ritchie, Esq. : it is about 25 miles 
long, and 20 broad. The surface is generally hilly and broken, and 
the soil not fertile, except on the streams, where there is considera- 
ble champaign country. 

Harrisville, the county-seat, lies about 37 miles east of Parkers- 
burg, and 4 miles s. of the nw. turnpike : it contains 2 stores, 1 tan- 
nery, 1 Baptist and 1 Methodist church, and about 15 dwellings. 
Estimated population of the county, 1,800. 



ROANOKE. 

Roanoke was formed from Botetourt, in 1838. The name is 
probably derived from the Indian word Roenoke, or Rawrenoke, sig- 
nifying the Indian shell-money. It is a small county, with a mean 
length of about 20, and mean width of 18 miles. The Blue Ridge 
forms its eastern boundary ; the western parts are mountainous. 
Much of the soil of the county, particularly on the Roanoke River 
in the vicinity of Big Lick, is of almost unequalled fertility, and 
productive in hemp, wheat, and tobacco. Pop. in 1840, whites 
3,843, slaves 1,553, free colored 101 ; total, 5,499. 

Salem, the county-seat, is in the valley of Virginia, on the west 
bank of Roanoke River, 178 miles westerly from Richmond, 25 
miles NE. of Christiansburg, and 23 from Fincastle. The naviga- 
tion of the Roanoke, from Weldon, N. C, to this place, 244 miles, 
is completed by canals, sluices, &c. Salem is a neat village, and 
contains 6 stores, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Baptist, and 1 Methodist church, 



448 ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 

and a population of about 450. Big Lick, 7 miles e. of Salem, on 
the main stage-road, contains a Baptist church and a few dwell- 
ings. The skeleton of a mammoth was found a few years since 
in this vicinity. Burlington contains a few dwellings. 

The Botetourt Springs, in the northern part of the county, 12 
miles from Fincastle, are quite popular, and the improvements are 
sufficient to accommodate a large number of visitors. The spring 
contains sulphur, magnesia, carbonic acid gas, &c. 



ROCKBRIDGE. 

RocKBRroGE derives its name from the celebrated natural bridge : 
it was formed in 1778, from Augusta and Botetourt. Its mean 
length is 31, mean breadth 22 miles. This county is principally 
watered by North River — a branch of James River — and its tribu- 
taries. It flows diagonally through the county, and joins the main 
branch of James River at the foot of the Blue Ridge, where their 
united waters force a passage through. Much of the soil is of a 
superior quality, and highly cultivated. It is one of the most 
wealthy agricultural counties in the state. Pop. in 1840, whites 
10,448, slaves 3,510, free colored 326 ; total, 14,284. 

Brownsburg, 12 miles ne. of Lexington, on the road to Staunton, 
contains about 30 dwellings ; near it is the old church, long known 
as the New Providence meeting-house. Fairfield, 13 miles nne. 
of Lexington, contains a Methodist and a free church, and about 
25 dwellings. 

Lexington, the county-seat, 146 miles from Richmond, 188 from 
Washington city, 35 from Lynchburg, 35 from Staunton, and 37 
from Fincastle, is beautifully situated on the west bank of North 
River, one of the main branches of the James. It was founded in 
1778, and was originally composed almost exclusively of wooden 
buildings, most of which were destroyed by fire in 1794. The 
town speedily recovered from the effects of the catastrophe. It is 
now quite compact, many of the buildings are of brick, and some 
of the private mansions — among which is that of the ^i.,.-* gov- 
ernor of Virginia, James M'Dowell, Esq. — are beautifully situated. 
A recent English traveller says, " The town, as a settlement, has 
many attractions. It is surrounded by beauty, and stands at the 
head of a valley flowing with milk and honey. House-rent is low, 
provisions are cheap, abundant, and of the best quality. Flowers 
and gardens are more prized here than in most places." Lexing 
ton contains 13 mercantile stores, 2 newspaper printing offices, 
Washington College, the Virginia Military Institute, a fine classical 
school under the charge of Mr. Jacob Fuller, Ann Smith academy, 
which is a female institution. 1 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopalian, 1 
Baptist, and 1 Methodist church, and about 1,200 inhabitants. 



ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 449 

Washington College, one of the oldest literary institutions south of the Potomac, 
was established as an academy in the year 1776, under the name of Liberty Hall, by 
the Hanover Presbytery, (then embracing the whole of the Presbyterian church in Vir- 
ginia.) Its first rector was the Rev. William Graham, a native of Pennsylvania, and a 
graduate of Nassau Hall, N. J. Mr. Graham was a man of extensive acquirements, 
great originality of thought, warm patriotism, and indomitable energy ; and to his exer- 
tions, more than to those of any other one man, the institution owes its establishment, and 
its continuance during the troublous times of our revolutionary struggle. Liberty Hall 
received its charter from the state in the year 1782, still retaining the name of an 
academy, although its charter authorized it " to confer literary degrees, to appoint pro- 
fessors, as well as masters and tutors," and, in short, to perform all the acts which 
properly belong to a college. In the year 1796, it received its first regular endowment, 
from the hands of the " Father of his country." The legislature of Virginia, " as a 
testimony of their gratitude for his services," and " as a mark of their respect," pre- 
sented to Gen. Washington a certain number of shares in the old James' River im- 
provement, a work then in progress ; this Washington, unwilling to accept for his own 
private emolument, presented to Liberty Hall Academy. To perpetuate the memory 
of this noble act, the name of the institution was, by the unanimous vote of the trus- 
tees, changed to Washington Academy ; and in the year 1812, by an act of the legis- 
lature, still further changed to Washington College. Subsequently, John Robinson, 
Esq., a soldier of Washington, emulating the example of his illustrious leader, bequeathed 
his whole estate to the college ; and still more recently, the Cincinnati Society of Va., 
after having accomplished the patriotic purpose for which it was established, bequeathed 
the residue of its funds to the college, on condition that provision should be made for 
military instruction in the institution. 

George A. Baxter, D. D., succeeded Mr. Graham. About the year 1827, he resigned 
the presidency, and was succeeded by Louis Marshall, M. D., of Kentucky. Mr. Henry 
Vetliake succeeded him in Feb., 1835. His successor was the present president of the 
college, the Rev. Henry Rufi'ner, D. D., who was inaugurated Feb. 22d, 1837. 

Like most of the older literary institutions of our country, Washington College has 
had its seasons of adversity as well as prosperity. At the present time, its prospects 
appear more flattering than they have done at any previous period since its first estab- 
lishment. For the last four or five years its number of students has varied from 80 to 
100, as large a number as its buildings would accommodate. Additional buildings, now 
just completed, will enlarge the accommodations so that it can receive about 150 ; 
probably as large a number as the region from which the college draws its patronage, 
will furnish for years to come. The faculty of the institution at this time consists of, 
Henry Ruffher, D. D., president, and professor of ethics and rhetoric; Philo Calhoun, 
A. M., prof of mathematics ; Geo. E. Dabney, A. M., prof of languages ; Geo. D. 
Armstrong, A. M., Robinson prof of natural philosophy and chemistry ; Capt. Thomas 
H. Williamson, Cincinnati prof.. of military tactics. The bill of expenses in the college 
are : Treasurer's bill for tuition, room-rent, deposite, and matriculation, $42 per annum ; 
board $7^ to $8 per month ; washing, fuel, candles, bed, &c., about $3 per month. 
Total, per session of 10 months, about $140.* With such advantages as Washington 
College enjoys, in its location in the midst of one of the most fertile and healthy por- 
tions of the great valley of Virginia, surrounded by a population, moral, frugal, and in- 
dustrious in their habits, and prizing highly the advantages of a liberal education, we 
confidently expect that its prosperity will continue ; and that it will continue a lasting 
monument to the wisdom, as well as the benevolence, of the illustrious man whose name 
it bears. 

The Virginia Military Institute. — This is a military academy, established In con- 
nection with Washington College by an act of the legislature, passed during the session 
jf 1838-'39. Formerly, a guard of soldiers was maintained at the expense of the state, 
for the purpose of affording protection to the arms deposited in the Lexington arsenal, 
for the use of the militia of western Virginia. About the year 1836, some zealous 
friends of education, among whom we may mention Gov. Jas. McDowell, thinking that 
the arsenal might be converted into an educational institution, without any increase of 
expense to the state, and affording at the same time equal security to the public arms, 
applied to the legislature to make the necessary change. After various delays, this ap- 
plication resulted in the estabUshment of the Virginia Military Institute, in the year 

* By an act of the Board of Trustees, indigent students, of good moral cliaracter, are admitted without 
the payment of tuition fees ; and such persons can, with prudence and economy, maintain themselves at 
college at from $80 to $100 per year. 

57 



450 



ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 



1839. Thus far, its success has been such as to fulfil the wishes of its warmest friends, 
and to render it a deservedly popular institution in the state. 

The course of instruction is a three years' course, requiring for admission a good 
common school education. It embraces the full course of mathematics and natural 
science taught in our colleges, with drawing, military tactics, and engineering, and so 
much of the French and Latin languages as the student's other studies leave him time 
to acquire during the first two years of his course. The corps of instructors consists of 
Col. Francis H. Smith, A. M., prof, of mathematics ; Maj. John T. L. Preston, A. M., 
prof, of languages and English literature ; Capt. Thomas H. Williamson, instructor in 
tactics and drawing ; Geo. D. Armstrong, A. M., prof, of chemistry, &.C., assisted by 
such cadets as are detailed, from time to time, to assist in the business of instruction. 
The annual expenses of a student at the institute are about the same as those of one at 
Washington College. The present number of students is 61, of whom 22 are main- 
tained at the expense of the state. 




Alum Springs. 

The Alum Springs are 17 miles west of Lexington, on the road 
to the warm and hot springs of Bath county. The improvements 
at this place are recent, and the springs, although but compara- 
tively little known, are gaining rapidly in favor with the public. 

" The water contains a rare and valuable combination of materials : the principal 
are iodine, sulphates of iron and alum, magnesia, and sulphuric acid. The water is 
tonic, increasing the appetite and promoting digestion. It is alterative, exciting the 
secretions of the glandular system generally, and particularly of the liver and kidneys ; 
it is cathartic, producing copious dark bilious evacuations ; and it also efiects a deter- 
mination to the surface, increasing the perspiration. 

" From the efficacy of these waters in purifying the blood, they are invaluable in the 
cure of all diseases of the skin, and all indolent sores, not disposed to a healthy action. 
In the use of them for such diseases, if the disease of the skin appears to be irritated at 
first, or if the ulcers become more inflamed, and discharge more freely ; let not this 
circumstance alarm any one, or deter him from persevering in their use. These are the 
evidences of the good eflTects of the waters, in expelling the vitiated humors from the 
blood to the surface ; and, until the blood is purified, such diseases cannot be cured 
In scrofulous ulcers, the use of these waters invariably causes them to discharge more 
freely, and in a short time of a more healthy appearance. They are a very useful rem- 
edy in cholera infantum, or the summer bowel-complaint in children. They immedi- 
ately give a good appetite, promote digestion, and will eflTectually correct and cure 
acidity of the stomach. In amenorrhcea, dysmenorrhoea, and leucorrhoea, the waters 



ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 451 

are peculiarly efficacious. Most obstinate cases of scrofula, erysipelas, and dyspepsia, 
have been cured by these waters, which preserve their medicinal qualities when sent 
away in barrels." 

The first settlements in this portion of the valley were made by 
the Scotch Irish, with a few original Scotch among them. They 
settled in the neighborhoods around Martinsburg, in Berkeley 
CO.. Winchester, and almost the entire counties of Augusta and 
Rockbridge. The same race went on into North Carolina, and 
settled in the counties of Orange and Guilford, — especially in the 
northern and middle parts of the latter county. Rockbridge and 
Augusta have always been the strongholds of Scotch Irish and 
Presbyterianism. From the introduction to the history of Wash- 
ington College, a manuscript volume written by President Ruffner, 
we have been allowed to introduce the following graphic sketch 
of the settlement of the valley, and the characteristics of its early 
inhabitants ; some of the facts are elsewhere given in this volume, — 
a repetition we prefer to breaking the connection : 

From the year 1606, when Jamestown was first permanently settled, it required 
about one hundred years for the infant colony of Virginia to extend itself upwards to the 
Blue Ridge. The settlements on the upper branches of the Rappahannock, and in the 
Northern Neck between this river and the Potomac, seem first to have approached the 
high mountain barrier, whose top, enveloped in a blue mist, had long since attracted the 
eyes of settlers in the distant plains below. Near the Potomac the ridge is less rugged 
and forbidding in its aspect than it is further towards the southwest. When it was sur- 
mounted by exploring parties of white men, and displayed to their eyes the beauty and 
fertility of the vale of Shenando, and of the uplands beyond it, the temptation was irre- 
sistible, and hardy adventurers resolved to brave every danger for the sake of a possession 
so alluring. They first planted themselves on the rich low grounds of the Shenando, 
but soon ventured upon the pleasant uplands beyond the river. Here, in a basin-shaped 
cavity, they founded the town of Winchester, where fountains of water proved more 
attractive than fine prospects from the neighboring hills. This, the oldest town in the 
valley, continued to be a frontier-post until the French were driven out of Canada. 

The eastern part of the valley being conveniently situated for emigrants from Penn- 
sylvania, as well as from lower Virginia, the population there came to be a mixture of 
English Virginians, and German and Scotch Irish Pennsylvanians. Some of the latter 
were recent emigrants from Europe, who had landed at Philadelphia, and thence made 
their way by land to the new settlements. 

The German Pennsylvanians, being passionate lovers of fat lands, no sooner heard 
of the rich vales of the Shenando and its branches, than they began to join their coun. 
trymen from Europe in pouring themselves forth over the country above Winchester. 
Finding the main Shenando mostly preoccupied, they followed up the North and South 
Branches, on both sides of the Massanutten, or Peaked Mountain, until they filled up all 
the beautiful vales of the country for the space of sixty miles. So completely did they 
occupy the country, that tlie few stray English or Irish settlers among them did not 
sensibly affect the homogeneousness of the population. They long retained, and for the 
most part do still retain, their German language, and the German simplicity of their 
manners. Of late years, indeed, a sensible transition has been going on about the bor- 
ders of their old settlements, and about the villages, where law and trade have caused a 
mixture of population, and made inroads upon the speech, manners, and dress imported 
from their fatherland. This change has grieved their old people, who cannot give up 
the energetic language of their sires, corruptly as they speali it, nor the plain homespun 
dress of old times, nor see their children give them up without sorrowing for the degen- 
eracy of their race. Not a few of these Germans of the valley have become anglicised 
by dispersion, where they have been led, by the temptation of good farms, to plunge into 
the mass of their Scotch Irish neighbors. 

How far they might have originally filled up the valley, if the way had been clear, 
we cannot conjecture ; but, ere they had reached the head-branches of the Shenando, 
their immigrant columns were met by another race, who soon filled up an equal space 
beyond them in this land of promise. 



452 ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 

For the want of towns and roads, the first settlers in the valley were supplied with 
many needful articles by pedlers who went from house to house. Among these itinerant 
venders of small wares, was one John Marlin, who traded from Williamsburg to the 
country about Winchester. His visits to the inhabited parts of this romantic country 
inspired him with a curiosity to explore the unknown parts towards the southwest. In 
Williamsburg he got John Sailing, a bold weaver, to join him in an exploring expedition. 
They proceeded through the valley in safety until they reached the waters of the Roan- 
oke, where they were met by a roving party of Cherokees, and of course treated as 
spies upon the Indian territory. Marlin had the good fortune to escape from the hands 
of the savages, but Sailing was carried as prisoner to their towns upon the upper Ten- 
nessee. Here he lived with his captors about three years, until he went with a party 
of them to the Salt Licks in Kentucky, to hunt the butfalo. Kentucky, like the valley, 
was a middle ground of contention between the northern and southern tribes. This 
party of Cherokees was attacked and defeated by some Indians from Illinois. Sailing 
was again captured, and carried to Kaskaskias, where an old squaw adopted him for a 
son. While thus domiciled in this remote region, he accompanied his new tribesmen on 
some distant expeditions — once, even to the gulf of Mexico — and saw many countries, 
and tribes of savages, then wholly unknown in Virginia. But after two years, he was 
bought of his Indian mother by an exploring party of Spaniards, who wanted him for 
an interpreter. He was taken by them on their way northwards, until he reached 
Canada, where he was kindly redeemed by the French governor, and sent to New York ; 
whence he found his way to Williamsburg again, after six years of strange and eventful 
wanderings. 

In Williamsburg, two strangers from Britain, John Lewis and John Mackey, heard 
Sailing's story with admiration. They were particularly struck with his glowing 
description of the valley of Virginia, a broad space between parallel ridges of mountain ; 
its vales watered by clear streams, its soil fertile, its plains covered only with shrubbery 
and a rich herbage, grazed by herds of buffalo, and its hills crowned with forests ; a 
region of beauty as yet, for the most part, untouched by the hand of man, and offering 
unbought homes and easy subsistence to all who had the enterprise to scale the mountain 
barrier, by which it had been so long concealed from the colonists. Lewis and Mackey 
joined Sailing in making an expedition to this newly-discovered land, in order first to 
see it, and then, if it fulfilled their expectations, of making a settlement there. They 
were not disappointed ; and having the whole land before them from which to choose, 
Lewis selected his residence near the Middle River, on a creek which bears his name. 
Mackey went further up the Middle River, and settled near the Buffalo Gap ; but Sal- 
ling, who in his captivity appears to have acquired a taste for wild solitude, went fifty 
miles apart from the others, and pitched his habitation in the forks of James River, 
where a beautiful bottom is overshadowed by mountains. 

Lewis, who was evidently a man of energy and forethought, obtained authority to 
locate 100,000 acres of land in separate parcels in the country around him. While he 
was exploring the country to select good lands, his neighbor, Mackey, would frequently 
accompany him for the pleasure of hunting the buffalo. The result was, that Mackey 
died as he had lived, a poor hunter ; but Lewis provided for his family a rich inheritance 
of lands. The pioneer-tribe of white hunters have generally followed the example of 
Mackey. 

In the spring of the year 1736, Lewis, on a visit to Williamsburg, met with Benjamin 
Burden, who had lately come over as agent for Lord Fairfax, proprietor of the Northern 
Neck. Burden accepted Lewis's invitation to accompany him to his new home in the 
valley. He spent several months with his friend, exploring the country and hunting the 
buffalo, with Lewis and his sons, Samuel and Andrew. But he was a more provident 
hunter than Mackey. The party happened once to take a young buffalo-calf, which 
Samuel and Andrew Lewis turned and gave to Burden, to take with him to Williams- 
burg. This sort of an animal was unknown in lower Virginia ; the calf would, there- 
fore, be an interesting object of curiosity at the seat of government. Burden presented 
the shaggy young monster to Governor Gooch. The governor was so delighted with 
this rare pet, and so pleased with the donor, that he promptly favored his views, by enter- 
ing an order in his official book, authorizing Benjamin Burden to locate 500,000 acres of 
land, or any less quantity, on the waters of the Shenando and James Rivers, on the 
conditions that he should not interfere with any previous grants, and that within ten 
years he should settle at least one hundred families on the located lands. On these 
conditions, he should be freely entitled to 1,000 acres adjacent to every house, with the 
privilege of entering as much more of the contiguous lands at one shilling per acre. 



BOCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 453 

Burden returned forthwith to England for emigrants, and the next year, 1737, brought 
over upwards of one hundred famihes to settle upon the granted lands. At this time 
the spirit of emigration was particularly rife among the Presbyterians in the northern 
parts of Ireland, in Scotland, and in the adjacent parts of England. Most of Burden's 
colonists were Irish Presbyterians, who, being of Scottish extraction, were often called 
Scotch Irish. A few of the pure Scotch and northern English were mixed with the 
early settlers, but all, or nearly all, of the same Presbyterian stamp. Among the primi- 
tive emigrants to Burden's grant we meet with the names of some who have left a nu- 
merous posterity, now dispersed far and wide from the Blue Ridge to the Mississippi — 
such as Ephraim M'Dowell, Archibald Alexander, John Patton, Andrew Moore, Hugh 
Telford, John Matthews, &c.* 

The first party were soon joined by others, mostly of their connections and acquaint, 
ances in the mother country. These again drew others after them ; and they all in- 
creased and multiplied, until, ere the first generation had passed away, the land was 
filled with them. Then they began to send forth colonies- to new lands, southward and 
westward, until now there is scarce a county in the great valley of the Mississippi where 
some of their descendants may not be found. 

Although some lands on the upper branches of the Shenando were not included in 
Burden's grant, yet from the German settlements upwards to the vale of James River, 
the population was generally Presbyterian ; so that the whole mass, for 60 miles or more 
along the valley, was scarcely less homogeneous and peculiar than the mass of Germans 
below them. Few of the old colonists of Virginia migrated to these parts of the valley. 
They lived by the cultivation of tobacco ; tobacco was the sole staple of their trade ; 
tobacco was their money. An Arcadian life among green pastures and herds of cattle, 
had no charms for them : tobacco was associated with all their ideas of pleasure and of 
profit. But how was a hogshead of tobacco to be rolled to market through the rugged 
defiles of the Blue Ridge ? Not until roads and navigation offered new facilities for 
trade, and the Indian weed itself lost some of its importance, did the valley cease to 
repel settlers from the lowlands of Virginia. Hence the mixture of heterogeneous ele- 
ments in the population has never, until lately, been sufficient to vary the true-blue hue 
of their primitive Scotch and Irish Presbyterianism. When, in addition to the names 
before mentioned, we give others of the more numerous families long settled on Bur- 
den's grant — the Prestons, the Paxtons, the Lyles, the Grigsbys, the Stuarts, the Craw- 
fords, the Cumminses, the Browns, the Wallaces, the Willsons, the Carutherses, the 
Campbells, the M'Campbells, the M'Clungs, the M'Cues, the M'Kees, the M'Cowns, 
&c. &c. — no one acquainted with the race who imbibed the indomitable spirit of John 
Knox, can fail to recognise the relationship. 

One who is of a different race, may be permitted to speak freely of their character- 
istics. 

They had no sooner found a home in the wilderness, than they betook themselves to 
clearing fields, building houses, and planting orchards, like men who felt themselves now 
settled, and were disposed to cultivate the arts of civilized life. Few of them ever ran 
wild in the forests, or joined the bands of white hunters who formed the connecting link 
between the savage aborigines and the civilized tillers of the soil. They showed less 
disposition than the English colonists to engage in traffic and speculative enterprises. 
Without being dull or phlegmatic, they were sober and thoughtful, keeping their native 
energy of feeling under restraint, and therefore capable, when exigencies arose, of call- 
ing forth exertions as strenuous and as persevering as the occasion might demand. 

In their devotion to civil liberty, they differed not from the majority of their fellow 
colonists. Their circumstances, in a new country planted by themselves, far remote 
from the metropolitan government, fostered and strengthened their ancestral spirit of 
freedom. As Presbyterians, neither they nor their forefathers would submit to an eccle- 
siastical hierarchy ; and their detestation of civil tyranny descended to them from the 
covenanters of Scotland. Hence, in the dispute between the colonists and the mother 
country, the Presbyterians of the valley — indeed, of the whole country — were almost 

* Among others (says Withers) who came to Virginia at this time, was an Irish girl named Polly Mul- 
hoUin. On her arrival she was hired to James Bell, to pay her passage ; and with whom she remained 
during the period her servitude was to continue. At its expiration, she attired herself in the habit of a 
man, and, with hunting-shirt and moccasins, went into Burden's gran* for the purpose of making improve- 
ments and acquiring a title to land. Here she erected thirty cabins, by virtue of which she held one 
hundred acres adjoining each. When Benjamin Burden the younge ' came on to make deeds to those 
who held cabin rights, he was astonished to see so many of the n?«ne of MulhoUin. Investigation led 
to a discovery of the mystery, to the great mirth of the other clairoants. She resumed her Christian 
name and feminine dress, and many of her respectable descendant? ^11 reside within the limits of Bur- 
den's grant.— H. H. 






454 ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 

unanimously Whigs of the firmest and most unconquerable spirit. They were among 
the bravest and most effective militia, when called into the field. Gen. Washington sig- 
nified his opinion of them when, in the darkest day of the revolutionary struggle, he 
expressed his confidence, that if all other resources should fail, he might yet repair with 
a single standard to West Augusta, and there rally a band of patriots who would meet 
the enemy at the Blue Ridge, and there establish the boundary of a free empire in the 
west. This saying of the father of his country has been variously reported ; but we 
have no reason to doubt that he did, in some form, declare his belief that, in the last 
resort, he could yet gather a force in western Virginia which the victorious armies of 
Britain could not subdue. The spirit of these sires still reigns in their descendants, as 
the day of trial, come when it may, will prove. 

Another characteristic of these people was their rigid Calvinistic, or, as some would 
call it, Puritanical morality. Founded on religious principle, this morality was sober, 
firm, and consistent, though, in some of its aspects, too stern to be altogether winning, 
and often unadorned by that refinement of manners which imparts a charm to the exer- 
cise of virtue in the common intercourse of life. But much of their austerity should be 
forgiven, in consideration of the precious substance of virtue within it. Their moral 
character was a rough diamond, but, nevertheless, a diamond which would brighten 
most under the hardest rubs. 

The root of their morality, as we have intimated, was religious principle, deeply 
grounded by education, and nurtured by constant attendance on religious exercises. No 
sooner had they provided necessary food and shelter for their families, than they began 
to provide for tlie regular and decent service of God. They built churches and called 
pastors to the full extent of tlieir ability. While their settlements were sparse and fee- 
ble, their churches were necessarily few and far asunder. Consequently, some families 
had to go an inconvenient distance to church. But they went, notwithstanding, male 
and female, old and young, on horses, some of them ten or twelve miles, to the house 
of God regularly on the Lord's day. These were the right sort of people to found a 
commonwealth that should stand the wear and tear of a hundred ages. 

Some of the churches built by the first generation are yet standing, substantial monu- 
ments of their pious zeal. They are built of the solid limestone of the valley. Others 
have been replaced by larger and fairer structures of brick. In building some of the 
primitive stone churches, before roads, wagons, and saw-mills could facilitate the col- 
lection and preparation of materials, they had to adopt some singular modes of convey- 
ance. For example, the Providence congregation packed all the sand used in their 
church from a place six miles distant, sack by sack, on the backs of horses ! and, what 
is almost incredible, the fair wives and daughters of the congregation are said to have 
undertaken this part of the work, while the men labored at the stone and timber. Let 
not the great-grand-daughters of these women blush for them, however they would 
deeply blush themselves to be found in such employment. For ourselves, we admire 
the conduct of these females : it was not only excusable, not only praiseworthy — it was 
almost heroic. It takes Spartan mothers to rear Spartan men. These were among the 
women whose sons and grandsons sustained the confidence of Washington in the most 
disastrous period of the revolution. 

Their social intercourse was chiefly religious. When the Lord's Supper was adminis- 
tered in a church, the service usually continued four days. A plurality of ministers was 
present, and the people would flock to the place from all the country around — those who 
lived near giving hospitable entertainment to those from a greater distance. It was cus- 
tomary to have two of these sacramental meetings annually in each of the churches — 
•one in the spring and one in the autumn. The meetings of the presbytery, which circu- 
lated through the principal churches, drew together a larger concourse, and were cele- 
brated as the chief religious festivals of the country. 

But except these solemn festivals, and the weekly meetings at church, the families of 
the country had little social intercourse, except occasional visits and the occurrence of 
marriage feasts. Nothing was known of the gay amusements common among the 
lower Virginians. . . . The careful and religious education of their children was 
one of the most important features of their domestic policy. Common schools arose 
among them, therefore, as soon as the state of the population admitted them. 



The first academy established in the valley of Virginia was lo- 
cated on Timber Ridge, near the present village of Fairfield, in 
this county. It is the one alluded to in the preceding historic 



ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 455 

sketch of Washington College, and was founded in 1776. Its first 
rector was the Rev. Wm. Graham.* This institution, the germ 
whence sprung Washington College, is thus described in the work 
of Dr. RufFner : 

The schoolhouse was a log cabin. A fine forest of oaks, which had given Timber 
Ridge its name, cast a shade over it in the summer, and afforded convenient fuel in win- 
ter. A spring of pure water gushed from the rocks near the house. From amidst the 
trees the student had a fine view of the country below, and of the neighboring Blue Ridge. 
In short, all the features of the place made it a fit habitation of the woodland muse, and 
the hill deserved its name of Mount Pleasant. Hither about thirty youth of the moun- 
tains repaired, " to taste the Pierian spring," thirty-five years after the first settlement 
of Burden's Grant. Of reading, writing, and ciphering, the boys of the country had 
before acquired such knowledge as primary schools could afford ; but with a few late ex- 
ceptions, Latin, Greek, algebra, geometry, and such like scholastic mysteries, were things 
of which they had heard — which they knew perhaps to lie covered up in the learned 
heads of their pastors — but of the nature and uses of which they had no conception 

whatever It was a log hut of one apartment. The students carried their dinner 

with them from their boarding-schools in the neighborhood. They conned their lessons 
either in the school-room, where the recitations were heard, or under the shades of the 
forest, where breezes whispered and birds sang without disturbing their studies. A horn 
— perhaps a rieal cow's horn — summoned the school from play, and the scattered classes 
to recitation. Instead of broadcloth coats, the students generally wore a far more grace- 
ful garment, the hunting-shirt, homespun, homewoven, and homemade, by the industri- 
ous wives and daughters of the land. Their amusements were not the less remote from 
the modern tastes of students — cards, backgammon, flutes, fiddles, and even marbles, 
were scarcely known among these homebred mountain boys. Firing pistols and rang- 
ing the fields with shot-guns to kill little birds for sport, they would have considered a 
waste of time and ammunition. As to frequenting tippling-shops of any denomination, 
this was impossible, because no such catchpenny lures for students existed in the coun- 
try, or would have been tolerated. Had any huckster of liquors, knickknacks, and explo- 
sive crackers, hung out his sign in those days, the old puritan morality of the land was 
yet vigorous enough to abate the nuisance. The sports of the students were mostly gym- 
nastic, both manly and healthful — such as leaping, running, wrestling, pitching quoits, 
and playing ball. In this rustic seminary a considerable number of young men began 
their education, who afterwards bore a distinguished part in the civil and ecclesiastical 
affairs of the country. 

Samuel Houston, late president of the republic of Texas, was born 

* A correspondent has furnished us with the following original anecdote : 

in the summer of 1781, Col. Tarleton came near capturing the whole of the Virginia legislature, with 
Mr. Jefferson, our governor, then assembled at Charlottesville. All of these, however, except seven, 
made their escape, and reassembled in Staunton, where they resumed their labors, supposing it a place 
of safety. But soon after they commenced business, a messenger arrived with the information that Col. 
Tarleton was in full march for that place. Intimidated by their late narrow escape, they precipitately 
fled, each caring most for his own safety. It so happened that on that day a Presbyterian clergyman from 
Lexington, 35 miles distant, was on his way to a meeting of his presbytery, at the Augusta church, 8 
miles north of Staunton. Meeting with some of his brethren, who informed him of what had occurred, 
he inquired of them whether any measures had been taken by the legislature before they dispersed, to 
call out the militia, and being answered in the negative, he expressed great surprise, and said something 
must be done, and proposed that they should each take different roads, and attend to it at once. This 
was accordingly done, and the call as promptly obeyed ; and the men assembled at Staunton the same 
evening, prepared to march with a view of meeting the enemy. The clergyman alluded to reached Lex- 
ington, 35 miles distant, the same evening, and having spread the word in different directions, a large com- 
pany assembled at his house the next morning. To these he delivered an address suited to the occasion. 
But they were without an officer, and no one being willing to act in that capacity, the clergyman offered 
his own service, which being accepted, he girt on his sword, and they immediately set out for the scene 
of action. On reaching Rockfish Gap, (the place where the road leading from Charlottesville to Staun- 
ton crosses the Blue Ridge,) they found the moiuitain covered with riflemen, determined that no hostile 
foot should enter their borders with impunity. Intelligence, however, soon arrived that Tarleton had 
changed his course, and was retreating down the country. Some supposed it was a feint, and that he 
would attempt to cross the mountain at another place, and immediately set out to guard the pass. Others 
returned home. But the clergyman alluded to, and his company, with others, went in pursuit of the re- 
treating enemy, and joined the Marquis Lafayette below Charlottesville. The campaign, however, being 
likely to be protracted, they did not continue long with the army, but returned home. The inquiry natu- 
rally arises, Who was this clergyman 1 Answer — It was the learned and pious Rev. Wm. Graham, one 
of Virginia's most useful and gifted sons — then principal of Liberty Hall Academy, (now Washington 
College,) whose voice has been heard in almost every part of the valley, announcing the tidings of mercf 
and who, with hundreds of his spiritual children, is now rejoicing around the throne. 



456 ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 

in this county, in a dwelling now occupied by the Rev. Horatio 
Thompson, near Timber Reach church, six miles ne. of Lexington. 
His father was a farmer in good circumstances, and of Scotch Irish 
descent. Samuel received an ordinary school education, and when 
a young man removed to Nashville, Tenn., and studied law. His 
energy and talents raised him to the many prominent stations 
which he has held. 

The Rev. Archibald Alexander, D. D., President of the Theo- 
logical Seminary at Princeton, N. J., was a native of this county, 
and married a daughter of the "Blind Preacher," (see p. 417.) 

The Hon. Andrew Moore, of Rockbridge, was the only Virginian 
ever chosen a member of the United States Senate, west of the 
Blue Ridge. He was a member during the administration of Jef- 
ferson. In the Falling Spring church-yard, on the forks of James 
River, is the grave of Gov. M'Nutt, who died in 1811. He was a 
lieutenant in the company of Capt. John Alexander, (father of Dr. 
Archibald Alexander,) in the " Sandy creek voyage," (see p. 352,) 
in 1757. Shortly after, he was appointed governor of Nova Sco- 
tia, where he remained until the commencement of the American 
revolution. In this contest he adhered to the cause of liberty, and 
joined his countrymen in arms under Gates, at Saratoga. He was 
afterwards known as a valuable officer in the brigade of Baron de 
Kalb in the south. 

The first road over the Blue Ridge from Burden's Grant, was a 
pack-horse road through Rock Fish Gap. It was made by Ephraim 
M'Dowell, ancestor of Gov. James M'Dowell. There are Indian 
monuments, formed by piles of small stones, on Sailing's mountain, 
on the Blue Ridge, on the North mountain, and on various other 
mountains in this section. All these occur at the gaps of the 
mountains, where the Indians were accustomed to cross. There 
are various Indian mounds in the county. The largest is on Haze's 
creek, about 10 miles northerly from Lexington, on the farm 
lately owned by Dr. Alfred Leyburn. It is about 4 feet high, and 
90 in diameter. It is almost white with bleached bones ; stone 
pipes and other relics have there been found. 

The beauty of the scenery of the valley of Virginia has often 
been commented upon ; but we have not met with a more just de- 
scription than this from the work of a foreign traveller. He had 
been travelling from the Kanawha country through the White Sul- 
phur Springs, and when within about twenty miles of Lexington, 
in crossing the North mountain, saw the view described below : 

The great point of sight is called the Grand Turn. It is an angular projection from 
the side of the mountain, and is supplied with a low parapet of loose stones, to protect 
you from the precipice below. The old jagged pine of the forest, which has braved the 
tempest age after age, stands up in its clustered grandeur behind you. The lone and 
ravenous vulture is wheeling over your head in search of prey. The broken rock-work 
falls away abruptly, some eighty feet immediately beneath your standing, and then runs 
down in softer lines to the glens below. You look to the left, and there stand, in all 
their majesty, the everlasting mountains, which you have traversed one by one, and 
sketching on the blue sky one of the finest outlines you ever beheld. You look to the 
right, and there lies expanded before you one of the richest and most lovely valleys 




THE NATURAL BRIDGE. 



This celebrated curiosity is in the Valley of Virginia, near the centre of the state, 
one hundred and twenty-two miles west of Richmond. Its mean height, from the 
stream below to its upper surface, is two hundred and fifteen feet and six inches. 



ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 457 

which this vast country boasts. You look opposite to you, and the great and prominent 
mountains just break away so as to form the foreground to a yet more distant prospect, 
which is bathed in sunlight and in mist, promising to be equal to any thing you see. 
Everywhere, above, around, beneath, was the great, the beautiful, the interminable 
forest. Nothing impressed me so much as this. The forest had often surrounded and 
overwhelmed me ; I had never before such command of it. In a state so long settled, 
I had expected to see comparatively little of it ; but there it was, spreading itself all 
around like a dark green ocean, and on which the spots that were cleared and cultivated 
only stood out like sunny islets which adorned its bosom. 

On the whole, I had, as you will see, been travelling for three days over most dehght- 
ful country. For 160 miles you pass through a gallery of pictures, most exquisite, most 
varied, most beautiful. The ride will not suffer in comparison with a run along the finest 
portions of the Rhine, or our own drive from Shrewsbury to Bangor. It is often, indeed, 
compared with Switzerland ; but that is foolish ; the best scenery in that land is of an- 
other and a higher class. I was not at all aware that I should be thus gratified ; and 
therefore, perhaps, had the more gratification. I am thankful that I have seen it, and 
for the same reasons that I am thankful to have seen something of the west ; because 
they contribute greatly to form just conceptions of America. 

The Natural Bridge is 14 miles southwesterly from Lexington, 
172 from Riqhmond, and 213 from Washington. The mean height 
of the bridge, from the stream below to its upper surface, is 215 
feet 6 inches ; its average width is 80 feet, its length 93 feet, an(|, 
its thickness 55 feet. 

" The stupendous arch constituting the bridge is of limestone rock, covered to the 
depth of from 4 to 6 feet with alluvial and clayey earth, and based upon huge rocks of 
the same geological character, the summits of which are 90 feet, and their bases 50 feet 
asunder, and whose rugged sides form the wild and awful chasm spanned by the bridge. 
The bridge is guarded, as if by the design of nature, by a parapet of rocks, and by 
trees and shrubbery, firmly embedded in the soil ; so that a person travelling the stage 
road running over it, would, if not informed of the curiosity, pass it unnoticed. It is 
also worthy of remark, that the creation of a natural bridge at this place has contributed, 
in a singular manner, to the convenience of man, inasmuch as the deep ravine over 
which it sweeps, and through which traverses the beautiful ' Cedar creek,' is not other- 
wise easily passed for several miles, either above or below the bridge ; and, consequently, 
the road running from north to south with an acclivity of 35 degrees, presents the same 
appearance in soil, growth of trees, and general character, with that of the neighboring 
scenery." 

The Natural Bridge is higher, by 55 feet, than the Falls of 
Niagara. It is, in the opinion of at least one who has seen both, 
a greater curiosity, and more an object of wonder. That derives 
its chief interest from its magnitude, and is but, after all, a vast 
sheet of falling water ; — by comparison with other cataracts only, 
wonderful. But the Natural Bridge is nature like art, with the 
proportions of art ; on the very spot where art would otherwise 
have been required for the construction of a bridge. It is unique. 
No structure exists like it. As " a freak of nature" it is, perhaps, 
unparalleled, and therefore a greater natural curiosity and more 
wonderful than Niagara, although not so sublime an object ; and, 
therefore, one does not experience that overwhelming sense of in- 
significance as in contemplating the latter, ^ 

The subjoined eloquent description, originally published in Eu- 
rope, will strike the intelligent visitor as containing impressions 
similar to those he received on first viewing the Natural Bridge : 

This famous bridge is on the head of a fine limestone hill, which has the appearance 
of having been rent asunder by some terrible convulsion in nature. The fissure thus 
made is about ninety feet ; and over it the bridge runs, so needful to the spot, and so 

58 



458 ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 

unlikely to have survived the great fracture, as to seem the work of man ; so simple, so 
grand, so great, as to assure you that it is only the work of God. The span of the arch 
runs from 45 to 60 feet wide ; and its height, to the under line, is about 200 feet, and to 
the head about 240 ! The form of the arch approaches to the elliptical ; and it is car- 
ried over on a diagonal line, the very line of all others so difficult to the architect to 
realize ; and yet so calculated to enhance the picturesque beauty of the object ! 

There are chiefly three points of sight. You naturally make your way to the head 
of the bridge first ; and as it is a continuation of the common road, with its sides cov- 
ered with fine shrubs and trees, you may be on it before you are aware. But the mo- 
ment you approach through the foliage to the side, you are filled with apprehension. It 
has, indeed, a natural parapet ; but few persons can stand forward and look over. You 
instinctively seek to reduce your height, that you may gaze on what you adn»ire with 
security. Even then it agitates you with dizzy sensations. 

You then make your way some fifty feet down the bosom of the hill, and are sup- 
plied with some admirable standings on the projecting rockwork, to see the bridge and 
all its rich accompaniments. There is, 200 feet below you, the Cedar River, apparently 
motionless, except where it flashes with light as it cuts its way through the broken 
rocks. Mark the trees of every variety, but especially the fir, how they diminish as 
they stand on the margin of its bed ; and how they ascend, step by step, on the noble 
rockwork, till they overshadow you ; still preserving such delicacy of form and growth, 
as if they would not do an injury, while they lend a grace. Observe those hills, gather- 
ing all around you in their fairest forms and richest verdure, as if to do honor to a scene 
of surpassing excellence. Now look at the bridge itself, springing from this bed of ver- 
dant loveliness, distinct, one, complete ! It is before you in its most picturesque form. 
You just see through the arch, and the internal face of the further pier is perfectly re- 
vealed. Did you ever see such a pier — such an arch ? Is it not most illusive ! Look 
at that masonry. Is it not most like the perfection of art ; and yet what art could never 
reach ? Look at that coloring. Does it not appear like the painter's highest skill, and 
yet unspeakably transcend it ? 

This is exquisite. Still you have no just conception of this masterpiece until you get 
below. You go some little distance for this purpose, as in the vicinity of the bridge the 
rocks are far too precipitous. A hot and brilliant day is, of all others, the time to enjoy 
this object. To escape from a sun which scorches you, into these verdant and cool bot- 
toms, is a luxury of itself, which disposes you to relish every thing else. When down, 
I was very careful of the first impression, and did not venture to look steadily on the 
objects about me till I had selected my station. At length I placed myself about 100 
feet from the bridge, on some masses of rock which were washed by the running wa- 
ters, and ornamented by the slender trees which were springing from its fissures. At 
my feet was the soothing melody of the rippling, gushing waters. Behind me, and in 
the distance, the river and the hills were expanding themselves to the light and splendor 
of day. Before me, and all around, every thing was reposing in the most delightful 
shade, set off" by the streaming rays of the sun, which shot across the head of the pic- 
ture far above you, and sweetened the solitude below. On the right and left, the majes- 
tic rocks arose, with the decision of a wall, but without its uniformity, massive, broken, 
beautiful, and supplying a most admirable foreground ; and, everywhere, the most deli- 
cate stems were planted in their crevices, and waving their heads in the soft breeze, 
which occasionally came over them. The eye now ran through the bridge, and was grati- 
fied with a lovely vista. The blue mountains stood out in the background ; beneath 
them, the hills and woods gathered together, so as to enclose the dell below ; while the 
river, which was coursing away from them, seemed to have its well-head hidden in their 
recesses. Then there is the arch, distinct from every thing, and above every thing ! 
Massive as it is, it is light and beautiful by its height, and the fine trees on its summit 
seem now only like a garland of evergreens ; and, elevated as it is, its apparent eleva- 
tion is wonderfully increased by the narrowness of its piers, and by its outline being 
drawn on the blue sky, which appears beneath and above it ! Oh, it is sublime — so 
strong, and yG|Ko elegant — springing from earth, and bathing its head in heaven ! But 
it is the subliSi not allied to the terrific, as at Niagara ; it is the sublime associated with 
the pleasing. W sat, and gazed in wonder and astonishment. That afternoon was the 
shortest I ever ieraembered. I had quickly, too quickly, to leave the spot for ever ; but 
the music of those waters, the luxury of those shades, the form and colors of those 
rocks, and that arch — that arch — rising over all, and seeming to offer a passage to the 
skies — O, they will never leave me ! 

James H. Piper, Esq., at present a member of the Virginia sen* 



ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 459 

ate from Wythe county, when a young man climbed the Natural 
Bridge. The spot where he ascended is not shown in the engra- 
ving. On looking at the place, it seems impossible that a human 
being could ascend, and had the feat not been accomplished, it 
would be so considered. This, however, was the only instance, 
the particulars of which have been variously and erroneously 
stated. The account below is from the pen of Mr. William A. 
Caruthers, originally published in the New York Knickerbocker 
under the caption of — 

CLIMBING THE NATURAL BRIDGE ; BY THE ONLY SURVIVING WITNESS OF THAT EXTRAORDU 

NARY FEAT. 

I think it was in the summer of 1818, that James H. Piper, William Reveley, William 
Wallace, and myself, being then students of Washington College, Virginia, determined 
to make a jaunt to the Natural Bridge, fourteen miles off. Having obtained permission 
of the president, we proceeded on our way rejoicing. When we arrived at the bridge, 
nearly all of us commenced climbing up the precipitous sides in order to immortaUze 
«ur names, as usual. 

We had not been long thus employed, before we were joined by Robert Penn of Am- 
herst, then a pupil of the Rev. Samuel Houston's grammar-school, in the immediate 
neighborhood of the bridge. Mr. Piper, the hero of the occasion, commenced climbing 
on the opposite side of the creek from the one by which the pathway ascends the ra- 
vine. He began down on the banks of the brook so far, that we did not know where he 
had gone, and were only apprized of his whereabout by his shouting above our heads. 
When we looked up, he was standing apparently right under the arch, I suppose a 
hundred feet from the bottom, and that on the smooth side, which is generally considered 
inaccessible without a ladder. He was standing far above the spot where General 
Washington is said to have inscribed his name when a youth. The ledge of the rock 
by which he ascended to this perilous height, does not appear from below to be three 
inches wide, and runs almost at right angles to the abutment of the bridge ; of course 
its termination is far down the cliff on that side. Many of the written and traditional 
accounts state this to be the side of the bridge up which he climbed. I believe Miss 
Martineau so states ; but it is altogether a mistake, as any one may see by casting an 
eye up the precipice on that side. The story no doubt originated from this preliminary 
exploit. 

The ledge of rock on which he was standing appeared so narrow to us below, as to 
make us believe his position a very perilous one, and we earnestly entreated hira to 
come down. He answered us with Joud shouts of derision. At this stage of the busi. 
ness Mr. Penn and servant left us. He would not have done so, 1 suppose, had he 
known what was to follow ; but up to this time not one of us had the slightest sus- 
picion that Mr. Piper intended the daring exploit which he afterwards accomplished. 
He soon after descended from that side, crossed the brook, and commenced climbing on 
the side by which all visitors ascend the ravine. He first mounted the rocks on this 
side, as he had done on the other, far down the abutment ; but not so far as on the op- 
posite side. The projecting ledge may be distinctly seen by any visitor. It commences 
four or five feet from the pathway on the lower side, and winds round, gradually ascend- 
ing, until it meets the cleft of rock over which the celebrated cedar-stump hangs. 
Following this ledge to its termination, it brought him thirty or forty feet from the 
ground, and placed him between two deep fissures, one on each side of the gigantic 
column of rock on which the aforementioned cedar-stump stands. This column stands 
out from the bridge, as separate and distinct as if placed there by nature on purpose for 
an observatory to the wonderful arch and ravine which it overlooks. A huge crack or 
fissure extends from its base to the summit ; indeed, it is cracked on both sides, but much 
more perceptibly on one side than the other. Both of these fissures are thickly over- 
grown with bushes, and numerous roots project into them from trees growing on the 
precipice. It was between these that the aforementioned ledge conducted him. Here 
he stopped, pulled off his coat and shoes, and threw them down to me. And this, in my 
opinion, is a sufficient refutation of the story so often told, that he went up to inscribe 
iiis name, and ascended so high that he found it more difficult to return than to go for- 



460 ROCKINGHAM COUNTY. 

ward. He could have returned easily from the point where he disencumbered him- 
self; but the fact that he did thus prepare so early, and so near the ground, and 
after he had ascended more than double that height on the other side, is clear 
proof, that to inscribe his name was not, and to climb the bridge is, his object. He 
had already inscribed his name above Washington himself, more than fifty feet. 

Around the face of this huge column, and between the clefts, he now moved, back- 
wards and forwards, still ascending, as he found convenient foothold. When he had 
ascended about one hundred and seventy feet from the earth, and had reached the 
point where the pillar overhangs the ravine, his heart seemed to fail him. He stopped, 
and seemed to us to be balancing midway between heaven and earth. We were in dread 
suspense, expecting every moment to see him dashed in atoms at our feet. We had 
already exhausted our powers of entreaty in persuading him to return, but all to no 
purpose. Now it was perilous even to spealc to him, and very difficult to carry on 
conversation at all, from the immense height to which he had ascended, and the noise 
made by the bubbling of the little brook as it tumbled in tiny cascades over its rocky 
bed at our feet. At length he seemed to discover that one of the clefts before men- 
tioned retreated backward from the overhanging position of the pillar. Into this he 
sprang at once, and was soon out of sight and out of danger. 

There is not a word of truth in all that story about our hauling him up with 
ropes, and his fainting away so soon as he landed on the summit. Those acquainted 
with the localities will at once perceive its absurdity ; for we were beneath the arch, 
and it is half a mile round to the top, and for the most part up a ragged mountain. In- 
stead of fainting away, Mr. Piper proceeded down the hill to meet us and obtain his hat 
and shoes. We met about half way, and then he lay down for a few moments to re- 
cover himself of his fatigue. 



ROCKINGHAM. 

Rockingham was formed in 1778, from Augusta. It is 38 miles 
long, and 23 broad. The main Shenandoah runs through the east- 
ern portion ; North River drains the southern part ; north fork of 
Shenandoah runs through the n. and nw. portion ; and Smith's 
creek, a branch of the latter, the central portion. The western 
part is very mountainous, and the Peaked mountains lie between 
Harrisonburg and the Shenandoah. Much of the soil is extremely 
fertile, and the farming economical and judicious. A large por- 
tion of the population is of German origin, and many still speak 
that language. Pop. in 1840, whites 14,944, slaves 1,899, free col- 
ored 501 ; total, 17,344. 

Harrisonburg, the county-seat, is 122 miles northwesterly from 
Richmond, 25 from Staunton, and 40 from Charlottesville. The 
town was established in May, 1780, and named from Thomas Har- 
rison, who had laid out 50 acres of his land into streets and lots. 
It contains 8 mercantile stores, 2 newspaper printing-offices, a 
market, 1 Methodist, and 2 Presbj'^terian churches, and about 1100 
inhabitants. There is a fine spring of water on the public square, 
neatly enclosed. The village is handsomely built, flourishing, and 
is surrounded by a beautiful and fertile country. Mount Craw^ford, 
8 miles s. of the C. H., on the North River, near the head of boat 
navigation, contains a church and about 30 dwellings. Port Re- 
public, 12 miles s. of the C. H., at the junction of the North and 
South Rivers, contains a church and about 35 dwellings. Deaton, 



ROCKINGHAM COUNTY. 461 

4 miles sw., and Edom Mills, 5 miles n. of Harrisonburg, are smal 
places. 

This portion of the Shenandoah valley was almost exclusively 
settled by Germans from Pennsylvania, a few years previous to the 
French and Indian war. The manner of living among the primitive 
settlers of the valley of Shenandoah, together with the peculiar 
customs of the German population, are thus given by Kercheval : 

The first houses erected by the primitive settlers were log-cabins, with covers of split 
clapboards, and weight-poles to keep them in place. They were frequently seen with 
earthen floors ; or if wooden floors were used, they were made of split puncheons, a 
little smoothed with the broadaxe. These houses were pretty generally in use since 
the author's recollection. There were, however, a few framed and stone buildings erect- 
ed previous to the war of the revolution. As the country improved in population and 
wealth, there was a corresponding improvement in the erection of buildings. 

When this improvement commenced, the most general mode of building was with 
hewn logs, a shingle roof, and plank floor, the plank cut out with the whipsaw. Before 
the erection of saw-mills, all the plank used in the construction of houses Was worked 
out in this way. As it is probable some of my young readers have never seen a whip- 
saw, a short description of it may not be uninteresting. It was about the length of the 
common mill-saw, with a handle at each end transversely fixed to it. The timber in- 
tended to be sawed was first squared with the broadaxe, and then raised on a scaffold 
six or seven feet high. Two able-bodied men then took hold of the saw, one standing 
on the top of the log and the other under it, and commenced sawing. The labor was 
excessively fatiguing, and about one hundred feet of plank or scantling was considered 
a good day's work for the two hands. The introduction of saw-mills, however, soon 
superseded the use of the whipsaw, but they were not entirely laid aside until several 
years after the war of the revolution. 

The dress of the early settlers was of the plainest materials — generally of their own 
manufacture ; and if a modern " belle" or " beau" were now to witness the extreme 
plainness and simplicity of their fashions, the one would be almost thrown into a fit of the 
hysterics, and the other frightened at the odd and grotesque appearance of their progenitors. 

Previous to the war of the revolution, the married men generally shaved their heads, 
and either wore wigs or white linen caps. When the war commenced, this fashion was 
laid aside, partly from patriotic considerations, and partly from necessity. Owing to the 
entire interruption of the intercourse with England, wigs could not easily be obtained, 
nor white linen for caps. 

The men's coats were generally made with broad backs, and straight short skirts, with 
pockets on the outside having large flaps. The waistcoats had skirts nearly half way 
down to the knees, and very broad pocket flaps. The breeches were so short as barely to 
reach the knee, with a band surrounding the knee, fastened with either brass or silver 
buckles. The stocking was drawn up under the knee-band, and tied with a garter 
(generally red or blue) below the knee, so as to be seen. The shoes were of coarse 
leather, with straps to the quarters, and fastened with either brass or silver buckles. 
The hat was either of wool or fur, with a round crown not exceeding three or four inches 
high, with a broad brim.* The dress for the neck was usually a narrow collar to the 
shirt, with a white linen stock drawn together at the ends, on the back of the neck, with 
a broad metal buckle. The more wealthy and fashionable were sometimes seen with 
their stock, knee, and shoe buckles, set either in gold or silver with brilliant stones. The 
author can recollect, when a child, if he happened to see any of those finely-dressed 
" great folk," as they were then termed, he felt awed in their presence, and viewed them 
as something more than man. 

The female dress was generally the shortgown and petticoat, made of the plainest 
materials. The German women mostly wore tight calico caps on their heads, and in 
the summer season they were generally seen with no other clothing than a linen shift 
and petticoat — the feet, hands, and arms bare. In hay and harvest-time they joined the 
men in the labor of the meadow and grain-fields. This custom of the females laboring 
in the time of harvest, was not exclusively a German practice, but was common to all 
the northern people. Many females were most expert mowers and reapers. Within the 

* The Quakers were remarkable for their broad-brim hats. Thoy were sometimes called " Broaii. 
brims," by way of distinguishing them frem other people. 



462 ROCKIXGHAM COUNTY. 

author's recollection, he has seen several female reapers who were equal to the stoutest 
males in the harvest-field. It was no uncommon thing to see the female part of the 
family at the hoe or the plough ; and some of our now wealthiest citizens frequently 
boast of their grandmothers, ay, mothers too, performing this kind of heavy labor. 

The natural result of this kind of rural life was, to produce a hardy and vigorous race 
of people. It was this race of people who had to meet and breast the various Indiau 
wars, and the storms of the revolution. 

The Dutchman's barn was usually the best building on his farm. He was sure to 
erect a fine large barn before he built any other dwelling-house than his rude log-cabin. 
There were none of our primitive immigrants more uniform in the form of their build, 
ings than the Germans. Their dwelling-houses were seldom raised more than a single 
story in height, with a large cellar beneath ; the chimney in the middle, with a very 
wide fireplace in one end for the kitchen, in the other end a stove-room. Their furni. 
lure was of the simplest and plainest kind ; and there was always a long pine table 
fixed in one corner of the stove-room, with permanent benches on one side. On the 
upper floor, garners for holding grain were very common. Their beds were generally 
filled with straw or chaff, with a fine feather-bed for covering in the winter. The au- 
thor has several times slept in this kind of bed ; and to a person unaccustomed to it, it 
is attended not unfrequently with danger to the health. The thick covering of the 
feathers is pretty certain to produce a profuse perspiration, which an exposure to cold, 
on rising in the morning, is apt to check suddenly, causing chilliness and obstinate 
cough. The author, a few years ago, caught in this way the most severe cold, which 
was followed by a long and distressing cough, he ever was afflicted with. 

Many of the Germans have what they call a drum, through which the stove-pipe 
passes in their upper rooms. It is made of sheet iron, something in the shape of the 
military drum. It soon fills with heat from the pipe, by which the rooms become 
agreeably warm in the coldest weather. A piazza is a very common appendage to a 
Dutchman's dwelling-house, in which his saddles, bridles, and very frequently his wagon 
or plough harness, are hung up. 

The Germans erect stables for their domestic animals of every species : even their 
swine are housed in the winter season. Their barns and stables are well stored with 
provender, particularly fine hay : hence their quadrupeds of all kinds are kept through- 
out the year in the finest possible order. This practice of housing stock in the winter 
season is unquestionably great economy in husbandry. Much less food is required to 
sustain them, and the animals come out in the spring in fine health and condition. It is 
a rare occurrence to hear of a Dutchman's losing any part of his stock with poverty. 
The practice of housing stock in the winter is not exclusively a German custom, but is 
common to most of the northern people, and those descended from immigrants from the 
north. The author recollects once seeing the cow-stalls adjoining a farmer's dwelling. 

The German women, many of them, are remarkably neat housekeepers. There are 
some of them, however, extremely slovenly, and their dwellings are kept in the worst 
possible condition. The effluvium arising from this want of cleanliness is in the highest 
degree disgusting and offensive to persons unaccustomed to such fare. The same re- 
marks are applicable to the Irish ; nay, to some native Virginians. The Germans are 
remarkable for their fine bread, milk, and butter. They consume in their diet less ani- 
mal flesh, and of course more vegetables, milk, and butter, than most other people. 
Their " sour krout"* in the winter constitutes a considerable part of their living. They 
generally consume less, and sell more of the product of their labor, than any other class 
of citizens. A Dutchman is proverbial for his patient perseverance in his domestic la- 
bors. Their farms are generally small, and nicely cultivated. In all his agricultural 
pursuits his meadows demand his greatest care and attention. His little farm is laid off 
in fields not exceeding ten or twelve acres each. It is rarely seen that a Dutchman wiU 
cultivate more than about ten or twelve acres in Indian corn any one year. They are 
of opinion that the corn crop is a great exhauster of the soil, and they make but little 
use of corn for any other purpose than feeding and fattening their swine. 

* Sour krout is made of the best of cabbage. A box about three feet in length, and six or seven 
Inches wide, with a sharp blade fixed across the bottom, something on the principle of the jack-plane, is 
used for cutting the cabbage. The head being separated from the stalk, and stripped of its outer leaves, 
is placed in this box, and run back and forth. The cabbage thus cut up is placed in a barrel, a little salt 
sprinkled on from time to time, then pressed down very closely, and covered over at the open head. In 
the course of three or four weeks it acquires a sourish taste, and to persons accustomed to the use of it, 
is a very agreeable and wholesome food'. It is said that the use of it, within the last few years, on board 
of ships, has proved it to be the best preventive known for the scurvy. The use of it is becoming pretty 
general among all classes of people in the valley. 



RUSSELL COUNTY. 463 

Previous to the war of the revolution, and for several years after, considerable quan- 
tities of tobacco were raised in the lower counties of the valley. The cultivation of this 
crop was first introduced and pursued by immigrants from the eastern counties of Vir- 
ginia, From the newly cleared lands, two crops of tobacco in succession were general- 
ly taken, and it was then appropriated to the culture of other crops. The crop of tobac- 
co left the soil in the finest possible state for the production of other crops. Corn, wheat, 
rye, flax, oats, potatoes, and every thing else, were almost certain to produce abundant 
crops, after the crop of tobacco. 

In the year 1789 the French revolution broke out, when bread-stuffs of every kind 
suddenly became enormously high ; in consequence of which, the farmers in the valley 
abandoned the cultivation of tobacco and turned their attention to \yheat, which they 
raised in vast quantities for several years. It was no uncommon thing for the farmer, 
for several years after the commencement of the French revolution, to sell his crops of 
wheat from one to two, and sometimes at two and a half dollars per bushel, and his flour 
from ten to fourteen dollars per barrel in our seaport towns. 



RICHMOND. 

Richmond was created in 1692, when the old county of Rappa- 
hannock was extinguished, and Essex, with this county, made 
from it. It is 30 miles long, with an average breadth of 7 miles. 
The Rappahannock forms its southwestern boundary. Pop. in 
1840, whites 3,092, slaves 2,363, free colored 510 ; total 5,963. 

Richmond C. H. is centrally situated in the county, 56 miles-ifer 
of Richmond. It is a small village containing only about a dozen 
dwellings. 



RUSSELL. 

Russell was formed in 1786, from Washington county, and named 
from Gen. Wm. Russell. Its mean length is 40, mean breadth 34 
miles. It is drained by branches of the Sandy, and by the Clinch 
River ; the latter runs through its eastern portion. The principal 
portion of the population is included between Clinch mountain and 
a distance of 15 miles from its base. The northern, and a greater 
portion of its territory, is so mountainous, sterile, and difficult of 
access, that its inhabitants are few and far between. There are 
some rich sections of land in Russell ; and its mineral wealth — coal, 
iron ore, marble, &.c. — is considerable. About 100,000 pounds of 
maple sugar are annually produced in the county. Pop. in 1840, 
whites 7,152, slaves 700, free colored 26 ; total, 7,878. 

Lebanon, the county-seat, is 325 miles sw. of Richmond, and 130 
miles from Knoxville, Tenn. It is beautifully situated on a branch 
of Clinch River, and commands a fine view of mountain scenery. 
It was founded in 1816, and although a small village, it is the only 
one in the county. 



464 SCOTT COUNTY. 



SCOTT. 

Scott was formed in 1814, from Lee, Washington, and Russell, 
and named from Gen. Winfield Scott : its mean length is 24, mean 
breadth 23 miles. It is drained by the north fork of Holston and 
Clinch Rivers, each of which affords the facilities of boat naviga- 
tion in times of freshets. Big and Little Moccasin and Sinking 
creeks, also water the county. The face of the country is moun- 
tainous and uneven, and much of the soil is good. Iron, coal, 
marble, limestone, and freestone, are found within its limits. About 
60,000 pounds of maple sugar are annually produced. Pop. in 1840, 
whites 6,911, slaves 344, free colored 48 ; total, 7,303. 

Estillville, the county-seat, is 344 miles sw. of Richmond, and 40 
from Abingdon. It contains 3 stores, a Methodist church, and about 
60 dwellings. The Holston Springs are on the north fork of Hols- 
ton, 4 miles from the C. H. The medicinal qualities of the water 
are excellent, and its growing reputation, together with the im- 
provements lately made, draw a large number of visitors. The 
water contains all the ingredients of the White Sulphur possessing 
any medical efficacy. The principal difference is the existence, in 
the latter, of sulphureted hydrogen. The uniform temperature of 
the water is 68i°, which renders it a natural medicated bath of 
the most agreeable degree of heat. 



The Natural Tunnel is situated upon Stock creek, about 12 
miles westerly from Estillville. That part of the description in 
fine type, is extracted from the communication of Lieut.-Col. Long, 
of the U. S. Army, published in the Monthly American Journal of 
Geolog5^for Feb., 1832 : 

To form an adequate idea of this remarkable and truly sublime object, we have only 
to imagine the creek, to which it gives a passage, meandering through a deep narrow 
valley, here and there bounded on both sides by walls or r evHements, rising to the height 
of two or three hundred feet above the stream ; and that a portion of one of these 
chasms, instead of presenting an open thorough cut from the summit to the base of the 
high grounds, is intercepted by a continuous unbroken ridge more than three hundred 
feet high, extending entirely across the valley, and perforated transversely at its base, 
after the manner of an artificial tunnel, and thus affording a spacious subterranean chan- 
nel for the passage of the stream. 

The entrance to the natural tunnel, on the upper side of the ridge, is imposing and 
picturesque, in a high degree ; but on the lower side, the grandeur of the scene is greatly 
heightened by the superior magnitude of the cliffs, which exceed in loftiness, and which 
rise perpendicularly — and in some instances in an impending manner — more than three 
hundred feet ; and by which the entrance on this side is almost environed, as it were, by 
an amphitheatre of rude and frightful precipices. 

The observer, standing on the brink of the stream, at the distance of about one hun- 
dred yards below the debouchure of the natural tunnel, has, in front, a view of its arched 
entrance, rising seventy or eighty feet above the water, and surmounted by horizontal 
stratifications of yellowish, white, and gray rocks, in depth nearly twice the height of 
the arch. On his left, a view of the same mural precipice, deflected from the springing 
of the arch in a manner to pass thence in a continuous curve quite to his rear, and tow- 
ering, in a very impressive manner, above his head. On his right, a sapling growth of 
buckeye, poplar, lindens, &,c., skirting the margin of the creek, and extending obliquely 
to the right, and upwards through a narrow, abrupt ravine, to the summit of the ridge, 




THE NATURAL TUNNEL. 

The Natural Tunnel is in the southwestern part of Virginia, three hundred and fifty-six 
miles from Richmond, near the line of Tennessee. This passage through a mountain is 
about four hundred and fifty feet in length. A stream of water passes through it and a 
stage road over it. The above is an internal view, taken near the lower entrance, looking 
out upon the wall of rock beyond, shown on page 466. At the point where the figures are 
seen, the roof is estimated at about ninety feet above the stream, and the strata is there 
arranged in concentric circles, bearing a striking resemblance to a dome. 



SCOTT COUNTY. 465 

which is here, and elsewhere, crowned with a timber-growth of pines, cedar, oaks, and 
shrubbery of various kinds. On his extreme right, is a gigantic clifF lifting itself up 
perpendicularly from the water's edge, to the height of about three hundred feet, and 
accompanied by an insulated cliff, called the chimney, of about the same altitude, rising 
in the form of a turret, at least sixty feet above its basement, which is a portion of the 
imposing cliff just before mentioned. 

The fQllowing passages are from Col. Long's private journal, 
which he gives in addition to the above : 

The creek, which is about seven yards wide, and has a general course of about s. 15 
w., here passes through a hill elevated from two to three hundred feet above the surface 
of the stream, winding its way through a huge subterraneous cavern, or grotto, whose 
roof is vaulted in a peculiar manner, and rises from seventy to eighty feet above its 
floor. The sides of this gigantic cavern rise perpendicularly in some places to the height 
of fifteen or twenty feet, and in others, are formed by the springing of its vaulted roof 
immediately from its floor. The width of the tunnel varies from fifty to one hundred 
and fifty feet ; its course is that of a continuous curve, resembling the letter S — first 
winding to the right as we enter on the upper side, then to the left, again to the right, 
and then again to the left, on arriving at the entrance on the lower side. Such is its 
peculiar form, that an observer, standing at a point about midway of its subterranean 
course, is completely excluded from a view of either entrance, and is left to grope in the 
dark through a distance of about twenty yards, occupying an intermediate portion of the 
tunnel. When the sun is near the meridian, and his rays fall upon both entrances, the 
light reflected from both extremities of the tunnel contributes to mollify the darkness of 
this interior portion into a dusky twilight. 

The extent of the tunnel from its upper to its lower extremity, following its meanders, 
is about one hundred and fifty yards, in which distance the stream falls about ten feet, 
emitting, in its passage over a rocky bed, an agreeable murmur, which is rendered more 
grateful by its reverberations upon the roof and sides of the grotto. The discharge of a 
musket produces a crash-like report, succeeded by a roar in the tunnel, which has a deaf- 
ening effect upon the ear. The hill through which this singular perforation leads, de- 
scends in a direction from east to west, across the line of the creek, and affords a very 
convenient passage for a road which traverses it at this place, having a descent in the 
direction just mentioned of about four degrees. 

In the view of the lower entrance to the Natural Tunnel, there 
is represented an occurrence which took place many years since. 
At this point the deep gorge, through which the creek passes, is 
bounded on three sides by a perpendicular wall of rock over 300 
feet in height, the fourth side being open to allow the passage 
of the creek after leaving the mouth of the tunnel. The rocks at 
this place have several small caves, or fissures, in which the nitrous 
earth from which saltpetre is extracted has been found. One or 
more of these are in the sides of the tunnel itself. A gentleman 
informed us that the first time he visited the tunnel, some persons 
were inside extracting saltpetre, and that the smoke belching forth 
from its mouth and curling up the gorge, enhanced the natural 
gloom and hideousness of the scene. In the late war, when salt- 
petre was very scarce, the small fissure in the wall of rock — at 
that place over 300 feet high — shown in the view, attracted at- 
tention, and it was determined to explore it. An adventurous in- 
dividual, by the name of George Dotson, was accordingly lowered 
from the top by a rope running over a log, and held by several 
men. The rope not being sufficiently long, the last length, which 
was tied around his waist, was made of the bark of leatherwood. 
When down to the level of the fissure, he was still 12 or 14 feet 
from it horizontally, being thrown so by the overhanging of the 
wall of rock. With a long pole, to which was attached a hook, 

59 



466 



SCOTT COUNTV. 



he attempted to pull himself to the fissure. He had nearly suc- 
ceeded, when the hook slipped, and he swung out into the middle 
of the ravine, pendulum-iike, on a rope of perhaps 150 feet in 
length. Returning on his fearful vibration, he but managed to 
ward himself off with his pole from being dashed against the rock. 




Lower Entrance to the Natural Tunnel. 



when away he swung again. One of his companions, stationed 
on the opposite side of the ravine to give directions, instinctively 
drew back, for it appeared to him that he was slung at him across 
the abyss. At length the vibrations ceased. At that juncture 
Dotson heard something crack above his head: he looked, and saw 
that a strand of his bark rope had parted. Grasping, with both 
hands, the rope immediately above the spot, he cried out hastily, 

" Pull ! for sake pull !" On reaching the top he fainted. On 

another occasion, the bark rope being replaced by a hempen one, 
he went down again and explored the cave. His only reward 
was the satisfaction of his curiosity. The hole extended only a 
few feet. 



SHENANDOAH COUNTY. 467 



SHENANDOAH. 

Shenandoah was established in 1772, from Frederick, under the 
name of Dunmore ; but in October, 1777, after Lord Dunmore had 
taken a decided stand against the colonists, one of the delegates 
from the county stated, " that his constituents no longer wished to 
live in, or he to represent, a county bearing the name of such a 
tory; he therefore moved to call it Shenandoah, after the beautiful 
stream which passes through it ;" and it was accordingly done. 
It is 32 miles long, with a mean width of 15 miles. The eastern 
and western portions are mountainous. The central part of the 
county is watered by the north fork of the Shenandoah, and the 
soil is extremely fertile. Population in 1840, whites 10,320, slaves 
1,033, free colored 265; total, 11,618. 

Woodstock, the county-seat, is 150 miles nw. of Richmond, and 
32 ssvv. of Winchester, on the Staunton and Winchester macada- 
mized turnpike, and about a mile from the n. fork of the Shenan- 
doah. The town was established in March, 1761. It contains 
several mercantile stores, 1 newspaper printing-office, an academy, 
a masonic hall, 1 German Reformed, 1 Lutheran, and 1 Methodist 
church, and a population of over 1,000. New Market was estab- 
lished in 1784. It is situated on the main turnpike through the 
valley of Virginia, about 20 miles south of Woodstock, and 18 n. 
of Harrisonburg : it contains six mercantile stores, 1 Lutheran, 1 
Baptist, and 1 Methodist church, an academy, and a population of 
about 700. The Massanutten Fall, a beautiful cataract of nearly 
50 feet perpendicular descent, is situated on a mountain of the 
same name, about three miles east of this village. The north 
fork of the Shenandoah runs within a mile on the west of the 
town, and is navigable, at high water, for large boats, to the Plain 
Mills. Strasburg is on the main turnpike, and on the n. branch 
of the Shenandoah, 12 miles n. of Woodstock: it contains 1 free, 
1 Presbyterian, and 1 Lutheran church, and 85 dwellings. Edin- 
burg, formerly called Stony Creek, is 5 miles ssw. of Woodstock : 
it is flourishing, and contains about 30 dwellings. Stony Creek, 
on which it is situated, is a bold stream, containing excellent sites 
for manufactories. 

The Orkney or Yellow Springs, are about 18 miles soutliwest of Woodstock. " The 
waters are composed of several lively springs, and are strongly chalybeate. Every thing 
the water passes through, or over, is beautifully lined with a bright yellow fringe or 
moss. The use of this water is found beneficial for the cure of several complaints. A 
free use of this water acts as a most powerful cathartic, as does also a small quantity of 
the fringe, or moss, mixed with common water." There is, high up on Cedar creek, an 
ebbing and flowing spring. It is " a beautiful spring of clear mountain water, issuing 
from the western side of the Little North mountain, in a glen. It ebbs and flows twice 
in every twenty-four hours ; and if care is not particularly taken at every flow, its cur- 
rent is so strong as to overset the vessels of milk placed in the water." 

This county was settled by Germans from Pennsylvania, a plain, 



468 SHENANDOAH COUNTY. 

frugal, and industrious people. Within the memory of those 
living, the German language was universally spoken among them, 
and is now, to a considerable extent. A traveller in this section 
during the French and Indian war, draws a glowing description 
of their condition. He says : 

The low grounds upon the banks of the Shenandoah are very rich and fertile. They 
are chiefly settled by Germans, who gain a sufficient livelihood by raising stock for the 
troops, and sending butter down into the lower parts of the country. I could not but 
reflect with pleasure on the situation of these people ; and think, if there is such a thing 
as happiness in this life, they enjoy it. Far from the bustle of the world, they live in the 
most delightful climate and richest soil imaginable. They are everywhere surrounded 
with beautiful prospects and sylvan scenes — lofty mountains, transparent streams, falls 
of water, rich valleys, and majestic woods ; the whole interspersed with an infinite vari- 
ety of flowering shrubs, constitute the landscape surrounding them. They are subject 
to few diseases, are generally robust, and live in perfect liberty. They are ignorant of 
want, and are acquainted with but few vices. Their inexperience of the elegances of 
life, precludes any regret that they have not the means of enjoying them ; but they 
possess what many princes would give half their dominions for — health, content, and 
tranquillity of mind 

The Historian of the Valley has given the particulars of several 
incursions of the Indians into this region, from which we select the 
following : 

In the year 1758, a party of about fifty Indians and four Frenchmen penetrated into 
the Mill Creek neighborhood, about nine miles south of Woodstock, and committed some 
murders, and carried ofl" forty-eight prisoners. Among them was a young lad of the 
name of Fisher, about thirteen years of age. 

After six days' travel they reached their villages west of the Alleghany mountains, 
where they held a council, and determined to sacrifice their helpless prisoner, Jacob 
Fisher. They first ordered him to collect a quantity of dry wood. The poor little fel- 
low shuddered, burst into tears, and told his father they intended to burn him. His 
father replied, " I hope not ;" and advised him to obey. When he had collected a suf- 
ficient quantity of wood to answer their purpose, they cleared and smoothed a ring 
around a sapling, to which they tied him by one hand, then formed a trail of wood 
around the tree, and set it on fire. The poor boy was then compelled to run round in 
this ring of fire until his rope wound him up to the sapling, and then back, until he 
came in contact with the flame, while his infernal tormentors were drinking, singing, 
and dancing around him, with " horrid joy." This was continued for several hours ; 
during which time the savage men became beastly drunk, and as they fell prostrate to 
the ground, the squaws would keep up the fire. With long sharp poles, prepared for the 
purpose, they would pierce the body of their victim whenever he flagged, until the poor 
and helpless boy fell, and expired with the most excruciating torments, while his father 
and brothers, who were also prisoners, were compelled to be witnesses of the heart-rend- 
ing tragedy. 

In 1766, two men by the name of Sheetz and Taylor, had taken their wives and 
children in a wagon, and were on their way to the fort at Woodstock. At the Narrow 
Passage, three miles south of Woodstock, five Indians attacked them. The two men 
were killed at the first onset, and the Indians rushed to seize the women and children. 
The women, instead of swooning at the sight of their bleeding, expiring husbands, 
seized their axes, and with Amazonian firmness, and strength almost superhuman, de- 
fended themselves and children. One of the Indians had succeeded in getting hold of 
one of Mrs. Sheetz's children, and attempted to drag it out of the wagon ; but with the 
quickness of lightning she caught her child in one hand, and with the other made a blow 
at the head of the fellow, which caused him to quit his hold to save his life. Several 
of the Indians received pretty sore wounds in this desperate conflict, and all at last ran 
off", leaving the two women with their children to pursue their way to the fort. 

Gen. Peter Muhlenburg was a native of Pennsylvania, and by profession a clergy. 
man of the Lutheran order. At the breaking out of the revolution, he was a young 



SMYTH COUNTY. 469 

man about 30 years of age, and pastor of a Lutheran church at Woodstock. In 1776, 
he received the commission of colonel, and was requested to raise his regiment among 
the Germans of the valley. Having in his pulpit inculcated the principles of liberty, he 
found no difficulty in enlisting a regiment. He entered the pulpit with his sword and 
cockade, preached his farewell sermon, and the next day marched at the head of his 
regiment to join the army. His regiment was the 8th Virginia, or, as it was commonly 
called, the German regiment. This corps behaved with honor throughout the war. 
They were at Brandywine, Monmouth, and Germantown, and in the southern campaigns. 
In 1777, Mr. Muhlenburg weis promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. After the 
war he returned to Pennsylvania, and was appointed treasurer of that state, where he 
ended his days. In person. Gen. Muhlenburg was tall and well-proportioned, and in his 
address, remarkably courteous. He was a fine disciplinarian, an excellent officer, and 
esteemed and beloved by both officers and soldiers. 

Human bones of extraordinary size — thigh bones three feet in length, and skeletons 
seven feet in length — have been discovered on Flint run, in this county, on Hawksbill 
creek, Tuscarora creek, and in Hardy county. (See p. 300.) Capt. Smith's " Generall 
Historic," vol. I., p. 120, gives an account of a prodigious giant tribe of Indians, the 
Sasquesahanocks, whom he met with at the head of Chesapeake Bay. This relation has 
been rejected as incredible, and considered as on a footing with the stories of Baron 
Munchausen, or Sinbad the Sailor ; but these evidences would seem to confirm it.* 



SMYTH. 

Smyth was formed in 1831, from Washington and Wythe, and 
named from Gen. Alexander Smyth, an officer of the late war, and 
a M. C. from 1817 to 1825, and 1827 to 1830. It is 30 miles long, 
with a mean width of 22 miles. It has three valleys ; the north, 
south, and middle forks of the Holston rmming parallel with each. 
The mountains are lofty, the bottom lands rich and productive. 
There are three quarries of gypsum, of the best quality, on the n. 
fork of the Holston, and several other quarries on Cove creek. It 
is now extensively and advantageously used in agriculture. About 
60,000 pounds of maple sugar are annually produced. Pop., whites 
5,539, slaves 838, free colored 145 ; total, 6,522. 

Marion, the county-seat, is a recently established village, near 
the centre of the county ; 275 miles sw. of Richmond, 29 ne. of 
Abingdon, and 26 sw. of Wytheville, on the great turnpike from 
Baltimore to Nashville, Tenn. It is a small, but neat town, con- 
taining 3 mercantile stores, and about 30 dwellings. The Chil- 
howee Sulphur Springs are on, or near the great turnpike, within 
18 miles of Abingdon. The settlement called Saltville, derives its 
name from the justly celebrated salt-works of Preston and King, 
which are on the line of this and Washington counties, in a narrow 
plain between the Rich Valley and the north fork of the Holston. 
There are two wells here, and the salt manufactured from them is 
of an excellent quality. About 100 persons are employed at these 
works. The only fossil salt yet discovered in the Union, is found 
at this place. 



* Southern Literary Messenger, Dec. 1839 



470 SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY. 



SOUTHAMPTON. 

Southampton was formed in 1748, from Isle of Wight. Its length 
is 40, mean width 15 miles. The rail-road from Portsmouth to 
Welden, N. C, runs across the county. It is watered by the 
Meherrin, Nottoway, and Blackwater Rivers. The Nottoway is 
navigable for vessels of 70 tons, as far as Monroe, from which 
place produce and lumber are shipped to Norfolk. The Black- 
water is navigable for large vessels to South Quay, in Nansemond. 
There were in 1840, whites 5,171, slaves 6,555, free colored 
1,799 ; total, 14,525. Jerusalem, the county-seat, is on Nottoway 
River, 70 miles sse. of Richmond, and contains about 30 dwellings. 

In this county are the relics of the once powerful tribe of Not- 
toway Indians. They have a reservation of good land, about 1 5 
miles square, on the Nottoway River, near Jerusalem. These, 
with the relics of the Pamunkey* tribe at Indian Town, in King 
William county, are the last remains of the Indians of eastern 
Virginia. Col. Byrd, in 1728, thus speaks of the Nottoways in his 
journal : 

In the morning we dispatched a runner to the Nottoway Town, to let the Indians 
know we intended them a visit that evening, and our honest landlord was so kind as to 
be our pilot thither, being about four miles from his house. Accordingly, in the afternoon 
We marched in good order to the town, where the female scouts, stationed on an eminence 
for that purpose, had no sooner spied us, but they gave notice of our approach to their 
fellow-citizens by continual whoops and cries, which could not possibly have been more 
dismal at the sight of their most implacable enemies. This signal assembled all their great 
men, who received us in a body, and conducted us into the fort. This fort was a square 
piece of ground, enclosed with substantial puncheons, or strong palisades, about ten feet 
high, and leaning a little outwards, to make a scalade more difficult. Each side of the 
square might be about a hundred yards long, with loop-holes at proper distances, through 
which they might fire upon the enemy. Within this enclosure we found bark cabins suf- 
ficient to lodge all their people, in case they should be obliged to retire thither. These 
cabins are no other but close arbors made of saplings, arched at the top, and covered so 
well with bark as to be proof against all weather. The fire is made in the middle, 
according to the Hibernian fashion, the smoke whereof finds no other vent but at the 
door, and so keeps the whole family warm, at the expense both of their eyes and com- 
plexion. The Indians have no standing furniture in their cabins but hurdles to repose 
their persons upon, which they cover with mats and deer-skins. We were conducted to 
the best apartments in the fort, which just before had been made ready for our reception, 
and adorned with new mats that were very sweet and clean. The young men had 
painted themselves in a hideous manner, not so much for ornament as terror. In that 
frightful equipage they entertained us with sundry war-dances, wherein they endeavored 

* Since the account of the Pamunkey Indians was printed (see p. 349) we have acci- 
dentally met, in the Family Magazine for 1838, a description of an Indian ornament, 
accompanied by an engraved representation. The description, signed " J. M.," and dated 
at Fredericksburg, here follows : 

" There is now before me a silver frontlet, obviously, I think, part of a crown. The engraving upon it 
is, first, the crest, a crown surmounted by a lion passant. The escutcheon, as delineated, field argent. 
Beneath this is a scroll containing the words, ' THE QUEENE OF PAMUNKEY.' Those nondescript 
things in the dexter, chief, and sinister base quarters are lions passant, and the whole is bordered with a 
wreath, .lust within the wreath you will see inscribed, ' Charles the second, king of England, 
iScoTLAND, France, Ireland, and Virginia,' and within that the words, 'HONl SOIT Q.VI MAL Y 
PENSE,' [EVIL TO HIM WHO EVIL THINKS.] The ornament was purchased of some Indians many 
years ago by Alexander Morson, of Falmouth, the gsandfather of the present proprietor. 

" You know that the Pamunkey tribe still occupies its old ground in King William county, exercising 
sto a certain extent its own laws, an ' imperium in imperio.' " 



SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY. 471 

to look as formidable as possible. The instrument they danced to was an Indian drum, 
that is, a large gourd with a skin braced tight over the mouth of it. The dancers all 
sang to the music, keeping exact time with their feet, while their heads and arms were 
screwed into a thousand menacing postures. Upon this occasion the ladies had arrayed 
themselves in all their finery. They were wrapped in their red and blue match coats, 
thrown so negligently about them that their mahogany skins appeared in several parts, 
like the Lacedeemonian damsels of old. Their hair was braided with white and blue 
peak, and hung gracefully in a large roll upon their shoulders. 

This peak consists of small cylinders cut out of a conch-shell, drilled through, and 
strung like beads. It serves them both for money and jewels, the blue being of much 
greater value than the white, for the same reason that Ethiopian mistresses in France 
are dearer than French, because they are more scarce. The women wear necklaces and 
bracelets of these precious materials, when they have a mind to appear lovely. Though 
their complexions be a little sad-colored, yet their shapes are very straight and well- 
proportioned. Their faces are seldom handsome, yet they have an air of innocence and 
bashfulness, that, with a little less dirt, would not fail to make them desirable. Such 
charms might have had their full effect upon men who had been so long deprived of 
female conversation, but that the whole winter's soil was so crusted on the skins of those 
dark angels, tliat it required a very strong appetite to approach them. The bear's oil, 
with which they anoint their persons all over, makes their skins soft, and at the same 
time protects them from every species of vermin that use to be troublesome to other 
uncleanly people. 

The little work that is done among the Indians is done by the poor women, while the 
men are quite idle, or at most employed only in the gentlemanly diversions of hunting 
and fishing. In this, as well as in their wars, they use nothing but fire-arms, which 
they purchase of the English for skins. Bows and arrows are grown into disuse, except 
only amongst their boys. Nor is it ill policy, but on the contrary very prudent, thus to 
furnish the Indians with fire-arms, because it makes them depend entirely upon the Eng- 
lish, not only for their trade, but even for their subsistence. Besides, they were really 
able to do more mischief while they made use of arrows, of which they would let silently fly 
several in a minute with wonderful dexterity ; whereas now they hardly ever discharge 
their firelocks more than once, which they insidiously do from behind a tree, and then 
retire as nimbly as the Dutch horse used to do now and then formerly in Flanders. We put 
the Indians to no expense, but only of a little corn for our horses, for which in gratitude 
we cheered tneir hearts with what rum we had left, which they love better than they do 
their wives and ciiildren. Though these Indians dwell among the English, and see in 
what plenty a little industry enables them to live, yet they choose to continue in their 
stupid idleness, and to suffer all the inconveniences of dirt, cold, and want, rather than 
to disturb their heads with care, or defile their hands with labor. 

The whole number of people belonging to the Nottoway Town, if you include women 
and children, amount to about two hundred. These are the only Indians of any conse- 
quence now remaining within the limits of Virginia. The rest are either removed, or 
dwindled to a very inconsiderable number, either by destroying one another, or else by 
the smallpox and other diseases. Though nothing has been so fatal to them as their 
ungovernable passion for rum, with which, I am sorry to say it, they have been but toa 
liberally supplied by the English that live near them. 



In August, 1831, a body of 60 or 70 slaves arose upon the white 
inhabitants of this county, and massacred 55 men, women, and 
children. The subjoined account of this event, known as the 
" Southampton Insurrection," was published at the time : 

The leader of this insurrection and massacre was a slave by the name of Nat Turner, 
about thirty-one years of age, born the slave of Mr. Benjamin Turner, of Southampton 
county. From a child, Nat appears to have been the victim of superstition and fanati- 
cism. He stimulated his comrades to join him in the massacre, by declaring to them 
that he had been commissioned by Jesus Christ, and that he was acting under inspired 
direction in what he was going to accomplish. 

In the confession which he voluntarily made to Mr. Grey, while in prison, he says : 
" That in his childhood a circumstance occurred which made an indelible impression on 
his mind, and laid the groundwork of the enthusiasm which terminated so fatally to 
many. Being at play with other children, when three or four years old, I told thero 



472 SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY. 

something, which my mother overhearing, said it happened before I was bom. I stuck 
to my story, however, and related some things which went, in her opinion, to confirm it ; 
others being called on were greatly astonished, knowing these things had happened, and 
caused them to say in my hearing, I surely would be a prophet, as the Lord had showed 
me things which happened before my birth." His parents strengthened him in this be- 
lief, and said in his presence, that he was intended for some great purpose, which they 
had always thought from certain marks on his head and breast. Nat, as he grew up, 
was fully persuaded he was destined to accomplish some great purpose ; his powers 
of mind appeared much superior to his fellow slaves ; they looked up to him as a person 
guided by divine inspiration, which belief he ever inculcated by his austerity of life and 
manners. 

After a variety of revelations from the spiritual world, Nat says, in his confession, 
that, " On the 12th of May, 1828, I heard a loud noise in the heavens, and the Spirit 
instantly appeared to me, and said the serpent was loosened, and Christ had laid down 
the yoke he had borne for the sins of men ; and that I should take it on and fight 
against the serpent, for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and 
the last should be first — and by signs in the heavens that it would make known to me 
when I should commence the great work — and until the first sign appeared, I should 
conceal it from the knowledge of men. And on the appearance of the sign, (the eclipse 
of the sun last February, 1831,) I should arise and prepare myself, and slay my enemies 
with their own weapons. And immediately on the sign appearing in the heavens, the 
seal was removed from my lips, and I communicated the great work laid out for me to 
do, to four, in whom I had the greatest confidence, (Henry, Hark, Nelson, and Sam.) 
It was intended by us to have begun the work of death on the 4th July last. Many 
were the plans formed and rejected by us ; and it affected my mind to such a degree, 
that I fell sick, and the time passed without our coming to any determination how to 
commence — still forming new schemes and rejecting them, when the sign appeared 
again, which determined me not to wait longer." 

Nat commenced the massacre by the murder of his master and family. He says : 
" Since the commencement of 1830, 1 had been living with Mr. Joseph Travis, who was 
to me a kind master, and placed the greatest confidence in me. In fact, I had no cause 
to complain of his treatment to me. On Saturday evening, the 20th of August, it was 
agreed between Henry, Hark, and myself, to prepare a dinner the next day for the men 
we expected, and then to concert a plan, as we had not yet determined on any. Hark, 
on the following morning, brought a pig, and Henry, brandy ; and being joined by Sam, 
Nelson, Will, and Jack, they prepared in the woods a dinner, where, about three o'clock, 
I joined them. I saluted them on coming up, and asked Will how came he there ; he 
answered, his life was worth no more than others, and his liberty as dear to him. I 
asked him if he thought to obtain it ? He said he would, or lose his life. This was 
enough to put him in full confidence. Jack, I knew, was only a tool in the hands of 
Hark. It was quickly agreed we should commence at home, (Mr. J. Travis',) on that 
night ; and, until we had armed and equipped ourselves, and gathered sufficient force, 
neither age nor sex was to be spared, (which was invariably adhered to.) We remained 
at the feast until about two hours in the night, when we went to the house and found 
Austin ; they all went to the cider press and drank, except myself On returning to the 
house. Hark went to the door with an axe for the pui-pose of breaking it open, as we 
knew we were strong enough to murder the family, if they were awakened by the noise ; 
but reflecting that it might create an alarm in the neighborhood, we determined to enter 
the house secretly, and murder them while sleeping. Hark got a ladder and set it 
against the chimney, on which I ascended, and hoisting a window, entered and came 
down stairs, unbarred the door, and removed the guns from their places. It was then 
observed that 1 must spill the first blood. On which, armed with a hatchet, and accom- 
panied by Will, I entered my master's chamber ; it being dark, I could not give a 
death-blow ; the hatchet glanced from his iiead, he sprang from the bed and called his 
wife ; it was his last v/ord. Will laid him dead with a blow of his axe, and Mrs. 
Travis shared the same fate as she lay in bed. The murder of this family, five in 
number, was the work of a moment, not one of them awoke ; there was a little infant 
sleeping in a cradle, that was forgotten until we had left the house and gone some dis- 
tance, when Henry and Will returned and killed it ; we got here four guns that would 
shoot, and several old muskets, with a pound or two of powder. We remained some 
time at the barn, where we paraded ; I formed them in a line as soldiers, and after car- 
rying them through all the manoeuvres I was master of, marched them off to Mr. Sala- 
thiel Francis', about six hundred yards distant." 



SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY. 473 

They proceeded in this manner from house to house, murdering all the whites they 
could find, their force augmenting as they proceeded, till they amounted to fifty or sixty 
in number, all mounted, armed with guns, axes, swords, and clubs. They then started 
for Jerusalem, and proceeded a few miles, when they were met by a party of white 
men who fired upon them, and forced them to retreat. " On my way back, (saj's Nat,) 
I called at Mrs. Thomas's, Mrs. Spencer's, and several other places ; the white families 
having fled, we found no more victims to gratify our thirst for blood. We stopped at 
Major Ridley's quarter for the night, and being joined by four of his men, with the re- 
cruits made since my defeat, we mustered now about forty strong. 

" After placing out sentinels, I lay down to sleep, but was quickly roused by a great 
racket ; starting up, 1 found some mounted, and others in great confusion. One of the 
sentinels having given the alarm that we were about to be attacked, I ordered some to ride 
round and reconnoitre ; and on their return the others being more alarmed, not knowing 
who they were, fled in different ways, so that I was reduced to about twenty again ; 
with this I determined to attempt to recruit, and proceeded on to rally in the neighbor- 
hood I had left. Dr. Blunt's was the nearest house, which we reached just before day ; 
on riding up the yard. Hark fired a gun. We expected Dr. Blunt and his family were 
at Major Ridley's, as I knew there was a company of men there ; the gun was fired to 
ascertain if any of the family were at home ; we were .immediately fired upon and re- 
treated, leaving several of my men. I do not know what became of them, as I never 
saw them afterwards. Pursuing our course back, and coming in sight of Capt. Harris's, 
where we had been the day before, we discovered a party of white men at the house, 
on which all deserted me but two, (Jacob and Nat.) We concealed ourselves in the 
woods until near night, when I sent them in search of Henry, Sam, Nelson, and Hark ; 
and directed them to rally all they could, at the place we had had our dinner the Sun- 
day before, where they would find me ; and I a(A;ordingly returned there as soon as it 
was dark, and remained until Wednesday evening, when, discovering white men riding 
around the place, as though they were looking for some one, and none of my men join- 
ing me, I concluded Jacob and Nat had been taken, and compelled to betray me. On 
this I gave up all hope for the present, and on Thursday night, after having supplied 
myself with provisions from Mr. Travis', I scratched a hole under a pile of fence-rails 
in a field, where I concealed myself for six weeks, never leaving my hiding-place but 
, for a few minutes in the dead of the night to get water, which was very near ; thinking 
by this time I could venture out, I began to go about in the night, and evesdrop the 
houses in the neighborhood ; pursuing this course for about a fortnight, and gathering 
little or no intelligence, afraid of speaking to any human being, and returning every 
morning to my cave before the dawn of day. I know not how long I might have led 
this life, if accident had not betrayed me. A dog in the neighborhood, passing by my 
hiding-place one night while I was out, was attracted by some meat I had in my cave, 
and crawled in and stole it, and was coming out just as I returned. A few nights after, 
two negroes having started to go hunting with the same dog, and passed that way, the 
dog came again to the place, and having just gone out to walk about, discovered me and 
barked, on which, thinking myself discovered, I spoke to them to beg concealment. 
On making myself known they fled from me. Knowing then they would betray me, I 
immediately left my hiding-place, and was pursued almost incessantly, until I was 
taken a fortnight afterwards, by Mr. Benjamin Phipps, in a little hole I had dug out 
with my sword, for the purpose of concealment, under the top of a fallen tree. On Mr. 
Phipps' discovering the place of my concealment, he cocked his gun and aimed at me. 
I requested him not to shoot, and I would give up, upon which he demanded my sword. 
I delivered it to him and he brought me to prison." 

Nat was executed according to his sentence, at Jerusalem, Nov. 11th, 1831. The 
following is a list of the persons murdered in the insurrection, on the 21st and 22d of 
August, 1831 : 

Joseph Travis and wife and three children, Mrs. Elizabeth Turner, Hartwell Prebles, 
Sarah Newsome, Mrs. P. Reese and son William, Trajan Doyle, Henry Bryant and 
wife and child, and wife's mother ; Mrs. Catharine Whitehead, son Richard, four daugh- 
ters and grand-child ; Salathiel Francis, Nathaniel Francis' overseer and two children, 
John T. Barrow, George Vaughan, Mrs. Levi Waller and ten children, William Wil- 
liams, wife and two boys ; Mrs. Caswell Worrel and child, Mrs. Rebecca Vaughan, Ann 
Elizabeth Vaughan and son Arthur, Mrs. John K. Williams and child, Mrs. Jacob 
Williams and three children, and Edward Drury — amounting to fifty -five. 

60 



474 SPOTTSYLVANIA COUNTY. 



SPOTTSYLVANIA. 

Spottsylvania was formed in 1720, from Essex, King William, 
and King and Queen, and named from Alexander Spotswood, then 
governor of Virginia. It is 23 miles long, and 17 wide. It is 
drained by head branches of the North Anna and Mattapony, and 
the Rappahannock forms its northern boundary. Xhe soil on the 
streams is fine ; but on the ridges, the land, originally thin, has 
much deteriorated by the wretched system of agriculture intro- 
duced by the first settlers, and long persisted in by their descend- 
ants. Gold has been found in the county, and at present it is ob- 
tained in considerable quantities. Pop. in 1840, whites 6,787, 
slaves 7,590 ; total, 15,161. There are several small places in the 
county, though none of much note, except the city of Fredericks- 
burg. The C. H. is situated about the centre of the county, on 
the river Po. 

The subjoined historical sketch of Spottsylvania, was published 
in the year 1836 : 

The earliest authentic information we have of that portion of our state now called 
Spottsylvania, is found in an act passed " at a grand assemblie held at James cittie," be- 
tween the 20th September, 1674, and the 17th March, 1675, in which war is declared 
against the Indians ; and among other provisions for carrying it on, it is ordered that 
" one hundred and eleven men out of Gloucester county be garrisoned at one ' fTort,' or 
place of defence, at or neare the fFalls of Rapahanack River, of which ffort Major Law- 
rence Smith to be captain or chiefe commander ;" and that this " fFort" be furnished 
with " fFour hundred and eighty pounds of powder, ffourteen hundred and fforty-three 
pounds of shott." This " IFort" was built in 1676, as appears by the preamble of a sub- 
sequent act. 

In the year 1679, Major Lawrence Smith, upon his own suggestion, was empowered, 
provided he would settle or seate downe at or neare said fort, by the last day of March, 
1681, and have in readiness upon all occasions on beat of drum, fifty able men, well 
armed, with sufficient ammunitions, &c., and two hundred men more within the space 
of a mile along the river, and a quarter of a mile back from the river, prepared always 
to march twenty miles in any direction from the fort ; or should they be obliged to go 
more than such distance, to be paid for their time thus employed at the rate of other 
" souldiers ;" " to execute marliall discipline" among the said fifty " souldiers and others 
so put in arms," both in times of war and peace ; and said Smith, with two others of 
said privileged place, to hear and determine all causes, civil and criminal, that may arise 
within said limits, as a county court might do, and to make by-laws for the same. 
These military settlers were privileged from arrest for any debts save those due to the 
king, and those contracted among themselves — and were free from taxes and levies save 
those laid within their own limits. 

The exact situation of this fort cannot now be determined with absolute certainty ; 
but as it is known that there was once a military post at Germanna, some ruins of which 
are still occasionally turned up by the plough, it is probable that this is the spot selected 
by Col. Smith for his colony. 

The earliest notice we have of Spottsylvania county, as such, is found in 7th Geo. I. 
1720, passed at Williamsburg, of which the preamble declares, by way of inducement, 
" that the frontiers towards the high mountains are exposed to danger from the Indians, 
and the late settlements of the French to the westward of the said mountains. There- 
fore it is enacted, that Spottsylvania county bounds upon Snow creek up to the mill, 
thence by a sw. line to the North Anna, thence up the said river as far as convenient, and 
thence by a line to be run over the high mountains to the river on the nw. side thereof, 
60 as to include the northern passage through the said mountains, thence down the said 
river until it comes against the head of Rappahannock, thence by a line to the head of 
Rappahannock River and down that river to the mouth of Snow creek, which tract of 



SPOTTSYLVANIA COUNTY. 475 

lands from the 1st of May, 1721, shall become a county by the name of Spottsylvania 
county." 

The act goes on to direct that " fifteen hundred pounds, current money of Virginia, 
shall be paid by the treasurer to the governor, for these uses, to wit : ^CSOO to be ex- 
pended in a church, court-house, prison, pillory, and stocks, in said county ; jE1,000 to 
be laid out in arms, ammunition, &c., of which each ' Christian tytheable' is to have 
' one firelock, musket, one socket, bayonet fixed thereto, one cartouch-box, eight pounds 
bullet, and two pounds powder.' " The inhabitants were made free of public levies for 
ten years, and the whole county made one parish, by the name of St. George. 

From the following clause of the same act, it is presumed that this new county had 
been cut off from Essex, King and Queen, and King William ; for the act declares that 
" until the governor shall settle a court in Spottsylvania," the justices of these counties 
" shall take power over them by their warrants, and the clerks of said courts by their 
process returnable to their said courts, in the same manner as before the said county was 
constituted," <^c. 

In the year 1730 an act was passed directing that the Burgesses for this county should 
be allowed for four days journey in passing to Williamsburg, and the same returning. 
In the same year, St. George's parish was divided by a line running from the mouth of 
Rappahannock to the Pamunkey ; the upper portion to be called St. Mark's parish ; the 
lower part to retain the name of St. George's parish. Four years after this the county 
was thus divided : St. George's parish to be still called Spottsylvania ; and St. Mark's 
parish to be called Orange, and all settlers beyond the " Sherrando" river to be exempt 
for three years from the " paiment" of public and parish dues. 

The governor fixed the seat of justice at Germanna, where the first court sat on the 
1st day of August, 1722, when Augustine Smith, Richard Booker, John Taliaferro, Wm. 
Hunsford, Richard Johnson, and Wm. Bledsoe, were sworn as justices, John Waller as 
clerk, and Wm. Bledsoe as sheriff; this place being found " inconvenient to the people," 
it was directed by law that from and after the 1st of August, 1732, the court should be 
held at Fredericksburg, which law was repealed seventeen years aftei^wards, because it 
was " derogatory to his majesty's prerogative to take from the governor or commander- 
in-chief of this colony his power and authority of removing or adjourning the courts ;" 
and because " it might be inconvenient in a case of smallpox or other contagious dis- 
temper." 

In 1769 the county, which had theretofore been one parish, was thus divided : all that 
part lying between the rivers Rappahannock and Po retained the name of St. George's 
parish — the rest of the county was erected into a new parish called Berkeley. In 1778 an 
act was passed authorizing the justices to build a court-house at some point near the 
centre of the county, to which the court should be removed, provided a majority of the 
justices should concur in deeming it advisable. It appears that the justices determined 
to avail themselves of this privilege, for an act of 1780, passed, as is therein stated, in 
consequence of a representation that the court-house in Fredericksburg was " unfit to 
hold courts in," authorizes the county court to be held at the house of John Holladay, 
*' until the new court-house now building in the said county shall be completed." 

The first regular stage coaches that passed through this county were established by 
Nathaniel Twining, by virtue of an exclusive privilege granted him in 1784, for the term 
of three years, to be paid at the rate of five pence per mile by each passenger. 

In the foregoing sketch mention is made of the ancient town of 
Germanna, founded by Governor Spots wood, and the original seat 
of justice for the county. There was a massacre of the inhabitants 
of this town shortly after its establishment, " perpetrated by the 
Indians, and sternly revenged by the whites — an event now learned 
only from the weakest and most feeble of all traditions."* Hugh 
Jones, in his "Present Condition of Virginia," published about 
1724, thus describes Germanna: 
Beyond Col. Spotswood's furnace, above the Falls of Rappahannock River, within view 



* This quotation is from a communication by W. G. Minor, to the late Gov. Gilmer, 
and published in the Southern Literary Messenger for February, 1841, entitled, " Colonial 
History of Virginia — a plea for its preservation." It is an able article, evincing much 
research, and vividly depicting the imperfections of the annals of Virginia. 



47fi SPOTTSYLVANfA COUNTY. 

of the vast mountains, he has founded a town called Germanna, from some Germans 
sent over by Queen Anne, who are now removed up further. Here he has servants, and 
workmen of most handicraft trades ; and he is building a church, court-house, and 
dwelling-house for himself ; and with his servants and negroes, he has cleared planta- 
tions about it, proposing great encouragement for people to come and settle in that un- 
inhabited part of the world, lately divided into a county. 

Beyond this is seated the colony of Germans of Palatines, with allowance of good 
quantity of rich land, who thrive very well and live happily, and entertain generously. 
These are encouraged to make wines ; which by the experience (particularly) of the 
late Robert Beverly, who wrote the History of Virginia, was done easily, and in large 
quantities in those parts ; not only from the cultivation of the wild grapes, which grow 
plentifully and naturally in all the lands thereabouts, and in the other parts of the coun- 
try ; but also from the Spanish, French, Italian, and German wines. 

Col. Byrd, in his "Progress to the Mines," in 1732, gives the 
following notice of Germanna, and " the accomplished Governor 
Spotswood," and family. The governor had, nine years previously, 
vacated the gubernatorial chair, and was at this time extensively 
engaged in the iron-mining business : 

This famous town [Germanna] consists of Col. Spotswood's enchanted castle on one 
side of the street, and a baker's dozen of ruinous tenements on the other, where so many 
German families had dwelt some years ago ; but are now removed ten miles higher, in 
the fork of Rappahannock, to land of their own. There had also been a chapel about a 
bowshot from the colonel's house, at the end of an avenue of cherry-trees, but some 
pious people had lately burnt it down, with intent to get another built nearer to their 
own homes. Here I arrived about three o'clock, and found only Mrs. Spotswood at 
home, who received her old acquaintance with many a gracious smile. I was carried 
into a room elegantly set off with pier-glasses, the largest of which came soon after to 
an odd misfortune. Among other favorite animals that cheered this lady's solitude, a 
orace of tame deer ran familiarly about the house, and one of them came to stare at me 
as a stranger. But unluckily spying his own figure in the glass, he made a spring over 
the tea-table that stood under it, and shattered the glass to pieces, and falling back upon 
the tea-table, made a terrible fracas among the china. This exploit was so sudden, and 
accompanied with such a noise, that it surprised me, and perfectly frightened Mrs. 
Spotswood. But it was worth all the damage, to show the moderation and good humor 
with which she bore this disaster. In the evening, the noble colonel came home from 
his mines, who saluted me very civilly, and Mrs. Spotswood's sister, Miss Theky, who 
had been to meet him en cavalier, was so kind too as to bid me welcome. We talked 
over a legend of old stories, supped about nine, and then prattled with the ladies, till it 
was time for a traveller to retire. In the mean time I observed my old friend to be 
very uxorious, and exceedingly fond of his children. This was so opposite to the maxims 
he used to preach up before he was married, that I could not forbear rubbing up the 
memory of them. But he gave a very good-natured turn to his change of sentiments, 
by alleging that wlioever brings a poor gentlewoman into so solitary a place, from all 
her friends and acquaintance, would be ungrateful not to use her and all that belongs to 
her with all possible tenderness. 

We all kept snug in our several apartments till nine, except Miss Theky, who was 
the housewife of the family. At that hour we met over a pot of coffee, which was not 
quite strong enough to give us the palsy. After breakfast, the colonel and I left the 
ladies to their domestic affairs, and took a turn in the garden, which has nothing beauti- 
ful but three terrace-walks that fall in slopes one below another. I let him understand, 
that besides the pleasure of paying him a visit, I came to be instructed by so great a 
master in the mystery of making iron, wherein he had led the way, and was the Tubal 
Cain of Virginia. He corrected me a little there, by assuring me he was not only the 
first in this country, but the first in North America, who had erected a regular furnace 

The city of Fredericksburg is in a handsome valley on the south 
side of the Rappahannock River, 56 miles from Washington City, 
and 62 miles from Richmond, on the line of the great southern 
rail-road. It is at the head of tide on the river, about 150 miles 






477 




SPOTTSYLVANIA COUNTY. 479 

from its mouth. The Rappahannock is navigable for vessels of 
140 tons, to the Falls of the Rappahannock, a short distance above 
the town. 

Fredericksburg was founded by law in 1727, and named from Prince Frederick, 
father of George III. Tiie neighboring village of Falmouth was founded at the same 
time. The preamble of the act establishing Fredericksburg says : 

"Whereas great niunbers of people have of late seated themselves and their families upon and near 
the river Rappahannock, and the branches thereof above the falls ; and great quantities of tobacco and 
other commodities are every year brought down to the upper landings upon the said river, to be shipped 
off and transported to other parts of the country; and it is necessary that the poorer part of said inhabi- 
tants should be supplied from thence, with goods and merchandise in return for their commodities ; but 
for want of some convenient place, where traders may cohabit and bring their goods to, such supplies 
are not to be had, without great disadvantages ; and good houses are greatly wanted upon some navi- 
gable part of said river, near the falls, for the reception and safe keeping of such commodities as are 
brought thither ; and for the entertainment and sustenance of those who repair thither from remote 
places with carriages drawn by horses or oxen. And forasmuch as the inhabitants of the county of 
Spottsylvania have made humble supplication to this General Assembly, that a town may be laid otit in 
some convenient place near the falls of the said river, for the cohabitation of such as are minded to re 
side there for the purposes aforesaid, whereby the peopling that remote part of the country will be en 
couraged, and trade and navigation may be increased. Be it enacted," &c. 

The town originally comprehended fifty acres, and was laid out on what was then 
called " the lease land." In 1742 and in 1759, its boundaries were enlarged. In 1738, 
a law was passed directing that " fairs should be held in Fredericksburg twice a year, 
for the sale of cattle, provisions, goods, wares, and all kinds of merchandise whatsoever." 
All persons at such fairs, going to or from them, were privileged from arrest and exe- 
cution during the fairs, and for two days before and two days after them, except for 
capital offences, breaches of the peace, or for any controversies, suits, and quarrels, that 
might arise during the time. The fairs were continued, from time to time, by various 
acts, until 1769, when the right of holding them was made perpetual. 

When Fredericksburg was incorporated, there was a warehouse 
on its site. The act appointed John Robinson, Henry Willis, Au- 
gustine Smith, John Taliaferro, Harry Beverly, John Waller, and 
Jeremiah Clowder, trustees. The first church was built on the 
site of the present Episcopal church. Col. Byrd, in 1732, five years 
after the town was established, notices it as follows : 

I was obliged to rise early here, that I might not starve my landlord, whose con- 
stitution requires him to swallow a beefsteak before the sun blesses the world with 
its genial rays. However, he was so complaisant as to bear the gnawing of his stom- 
ach till eight o'clock, for my sake. Col. Walter, after a score of loud hems to clear 
his throat, broke his fast along witk us. When this necessary affair was dispatched. 
Col. Willis walked me about his town of Fredericksburg. It is pleasantly situated 
on the south shore of Rappahannock River, about a mile below the falls. Sloops 
may come up and lie close to the wharf, within thirty yards of the public ware- 
houses, which are built in the figure of a cross. Just by the wharf is a quarry of white- 
stone that is very soft in the ground, and hardens in the air, appearing to be as fair 
and fine-grained as that of Portland. Besides that, there are several other quarries^ 
in the river bank, within the limits of the town, sufficient to build a large city. The- 
only edifice of stone yet built, is the prison ; the walls of which are strong enough 
to hold Jack Sheppard, if he had been transported thither. Though this be a com- 
modious and beautiful situation for a town, with the advantages of a navigable river, 
and wholesome air, j'et the inhabitants are very few. Besides Col. Willis, who is the- 
top man of the place, there are only one merchant, a tailor, a smith, and an ordinary 
keeper ; though I must not forget Mrs. Levistone, who acts here in the double ca- 
pacity of a doctress and coffee woman. And were this a populous city, she is quali- 
fied to exercise two other callings. It is said the court-house and the church are 
going to be built here, and then both religion and justice will help to enlarge the place, 

Fredericksburg is regularly laid out, and compactly built ; many 
of its buildings are of brick. The principal public buildings are 
a court-house, clerk's office, and jail, a market-house, an orphan 
asylum, 1 Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Methodist, 1 Baptist, and 1 



480 SPOTTSYLVANIA COUNTY. 

Reformed Baptist church. The orphan asylum and a charity 
school are for females. The town also contains 2 banks, and 1 
male and 1 female seminary of the higher class. It is supplied 
with water from the river, by subterraneous pipes ; and is governed 
by a mayor and common council. A canal, extending from the town 
to Fox's Mill, a point on the Rappahannock 35 miles above, has 
been commenced and partly completed. Fredericksburg enjoys 
considerable trade, chiefly in grain, flour, tobacco, maize, &c., and 
considerable quantities of gold are exported. Its exports have been 
computed at over $4,000,000 annually. The Falls of the Rappa- 
hannock in the vicinity afford good water-power. There were in 
1840, by the U. S. statistics, 73 stores, cap. $367,961 ; 2 tanneries, 
paints, drugs, &c., cap. $37,000 ; 1 grist-mill, 2 printing-offices, 4 
semi- weekly newspapers ; cap. in manufactures, $141,200; 5 acad- 
emies, 256 students; 7 schools, 156 scholars. Population in 1830, 
whites 1,797, slaves 1,124, free blacks 387; total, 3,308. Popu- 
lation in 1840, 3,974. 

Gen. Hugh Mercer and Gen. George Weedon, both of the army 
of the revolution, resided here before the war. Gen. Mercer was 
then a physician. His house, in which was his apothecary-shop, 
stood on the sw. corner of Princess Ann and Amelia sts. : it was 
a long frame building, of antique architecture, and a story and a 
half in height. Gen. Weedon was an inn-keeper. An English 
traveller. Dr.. J. F. D. Smyth, in his tour published in London in 
1784, says of these gentlemen : 

I arrived at Fredericksburg, and put up at the inn kept by one Weedon, who is now a 
general officer in the American army, and was then very active and zealous in blowing 
the flames of sedition. . . . In Fredericksburg I called upon a worthy and intimate 
friend, Dr. Hugh Mercer, a physician of great merit and eminence, and, as a man, pos- 
sessed of almost every virtue and accomplishment. . . . Dr. Mercer was afterwards 
a brigadier-general in the American army, to accept of which appointment I have reason 
to believe he was greatly influenced by Gen. Washington, with whom he had been long 
in intimacy and bonds of friendship. For Dr. Mercer was generally of a just and a 
moderate way of thinking, and possessed liberal sentiments, and a generosity of princi- 
ple very uncommon among those with whom he embarked. 

The interesting memoir subjoined, of Gen. Hugh Mercer, is 
principally abridged from the Southern Literary Messenger for 
April, 1838: 

Gen. Hugh Mercer was a native of Scotland, and graduated at an early age in the 
science of medicine. At the memorable battle of Culloden, he acted as an assistant sur- 
geon, and, with a multitude of the vanquished, sought a home of freedom in the wilder- 
ness of America. He landed in Pennsylvania, where he remained but a short time. 
From thence he removed to Fredericksburg, where he married, and became distinguished 
for his skill in medicine. In the Indian war of 1755, he served as a captain under 
Washington. In one of the engagements with this wily foe, he was wounded in the 
right wrist by a musket ball ; and in the irregular warfare then practised, his company 
scattered and became separated from him. Faint from loss of blood, and exhausted by 
fatigue, he was closely pursued by the savage foe, their thrilling war-whoop ringing 
through the forest, and stimulating to redoubled energy the footsteps of their devoted 
victim. Fortunately the hollow trunk of a large tree presented itself. In a moment he 
concealed himself in it, and though his pursuers reached the spot and seated themselves 
around him, he yet miraculously escaped ! Leaving his place of refuge, he sought the 
abodes of civilization, through a trackless wild of more than one hundred miles in extent ; 
and after supporting life on roots and the body of a rattlesnake, which he encountered 



SPOTTSYLVANIA COfNTV. 481 

and killed, he finally reached Fort Cumberland in safety. Fot his gallanlfy and milj* 
tary skill in this war — proved, in a distinguished degree, by the destruction of the Indian 
settlement at Kittaning, Pennsylvania — the corporation of Phi^delphia presented to him 
an honorable and appropriate medal. Va 

The commencement of the American revolution found him in the midst of an exten.i 
sive medical practice, surrounded by affectionate friends, and enjoying in the bosom of* 
a happy family all the comforts of social life. Stimulated to action by a lofty spirit of 
patriotism, he broke from the endearments of domestic life, and gave to his country, in 
that trying hour, the energy and resources of a practised and accbmplished soldier. In 
1775, he was in command of three regiments of minUte-men ; and early in 1776 we 
find him zealously engaged, as a colonel of the army Of Virginia, in drilling and organ" 
izing the raw and ill-formed masses of men Ivho, under the varied names of sons of lib. 
erty, minute-men, volunteers, and levies, presented the bulk without the order — the mob 
without the discipline of an army. To produce obedience and subordination among' 
men who considered military discipline as a restraint on personal liberty, and who had 
entered into the war unpaid and unrestricted by command, was a severe and invidious 
task. The courage, the fortitude, the self-possession of Col. Mercer quailed not at these 
adverse circumstances ; and, by the judicious exercise of mingled severity and kindness, 
he soon succeeded in reducing a mutinous soldiery to complete submission. Tradition 
has preserved the following anecdote, illustrating, in a striking manner, his character- 
istic promptitude and bravery : 

Among the troops which arrived at Williamsburg, then the metropolis of Virginiaj 
was a company of riflemen from beyond the mountains, commanded by Capt. Gibson. 
A reckless insubordination, and a violent opposition to military restraint, had gained foi" 
this corps the sarcastic name of " Gibson's Lambs." They had not been long in camp 
before a mutiny arose among them, producing much excitement in the army, and alarm- 
ing the inhabitants of the city. Freed from all command, they roamed through the 
camp, threatening with instant death any officer who should presume to exercise au- 
thority over them. In the height of the rebellion, an officer was dispatched with the 
alarming tidings to the quarters of Col. Mercer. The citizens of the town vainly im- 
plored him not to risk his life and person amid this infuriated mob. Reckless of personal 
safety, he instantly repaired to the barracks of the mutinous band,' and directing a gene- 
ral parade of the troops, he ordered Gibson's company to be drawn up as offenders and 
violators of law, and to be disarmed in his presence. The ringleaders Were placed under 
a strong guard, and, in the presence of the whole army, he addressed the offenders in an 
eloquent and feeling manner, impressing on them their duties as citizen-soldiers, and the 
certainty of death \i they continued to disobey their officers, and remained in that muti- 
nous spirit, equally disgraceful to them and hazardous to the sacred interests they had 
marched to defend. Disorder was instantly checked, and, after a short confinement, 
those under imprisonment were released ; and the whole company were ever after a8 
exemplary in their deportment and conduct as any troops in the army. 

Col. Mercer now joined the continental army. Congress having conferred upon him 
the rank of brigadier-general ; and throughout the whole of the stormy and disastrous 
campaign of 1776, he was a bold, fearless, and efficient officer. At the battle of Prince- 
ton, Gen. Mercer was mortally wounded. The circumstances were these : — In the 
march from Trenton to Princeton, Gen. Mercer led the vanguard of Washington's army. 
Reaching Princeton about sunrise, Gen. Mercer encountered three British regiments, 
who had encamped there on the previous night, and who were leaving the town to join 
the rear of their troops at Maidenhead. A fierce and desperate conflict immediately 
ensued. The American militia, constituting the front, hesitated, became confused, and 
soon gave way, while the few regulars in the rear could not check the dastardly retreat. 
Ere the fortune of the day was changed, and ere victory perched an the patriot standard, 
the heroic Mercer fell. Rushing forward to rally his broken troops, and stimulating 
thetn by his voice and example, his horse was shot from under him, and he fell, danger- 
ously wounded, among the columns of the advancing enemy. Being thus dismounted, 
he was instantly surrounded by a party of British soldiers, with whom, when they re- 
fused him quarter, he fought desperately with his drawn sword Until he was completely 
overpowered. Excited to brutality by the gallantry of his resistance, they stabbed him 
with their bayonets in seven different parts of his body, inflicted many blows on his head 
with the butt-ends of their muskets, and did not cease their butchery until they believed 
him to be a ci-ushed and mangled corpse. Nine days after the battle, he died in the 
arms of Major Geo. Lewis of the army, the nephew of Gen. Washington, whom the 
uncle had commissioned to watch over the last moments of his expirhig -friend. His 

61 



482 SPOTTSYLVANIA COUNTY. 

latter hours were soothed by the skilful slnd affectionate attendance of the distinguished 
Dr. Rush. 

In a small house, a few yards distant from that blood-red plain of carnage and of 
death, far away from the soothing consolations of domestic affection, this distinguished 
martyr of liberty breathed his last. The victorious flag of his country proudly floated 
over a field of triumph, and without a murmur he sank into a soldier's grave, finding a 
hallowed sepulchre in the hearts of his countrymen, and a fadeless epitaph in their insti- 
tutions. 

The remains of this gifted and accomplished soldier now sleep in Christ church, Phila. 
delphia, under a plain marble slab, bearing the simple yet expressive inscription — " In 
memory of Gen. Hugh Mercer, who fell at Princeton, Jan. 3d, 1777." 

The valor of Gen. Mercer was only equalled by his modesty. When Virginia organ- 
ized the third regiment, there were numerous applications for commissions, but scarcely 
one for less than the rank of a field-officer. " During the sitting of the House of Bur- 
gesses upon the question, a plain but soldierly-looking individual handed up to the 
speaker's chair a scrap of paper, on which was written, ' Hugh Mercer will serve his 
adopted country, and the cause of liberty, in any rank or station to which he may be 
appointed.' This from a veteran soldier bred in European camps — the associate of 
Washington in the war of 1755, and known to stand high in his confidence and esteem, 
was all-sufficient for a body of patriots and statesmen such as composed the Virginia 
House of Burgesses in the revolution. The appointment of Mercer to the command of 
the 3d Virginia regiment was carried instanter." 

In Wilkinson's Memoirs, several interesting particulars of the life and services of Gen. 
Mercer are related, and, in alluding to his death, that writer remarks : " In Gen. Mer- 
cer we lost, at Princeton, a chief who, for education, talents, disposition, integrity, and 
patriotism, was second to no man but the commander-in-chief, and was qualified to fill 
the highest trusts of the country." The same author remarks, that an evening or two 
before the battle of Princeton, Gen. Mercer being in the tent of Gen. St. Clair with sev- 
eral officers, the conversation turned on some promotions then just made in the army. 
Gen. Mercer remarked, " they were not engaged in a war of ambition, or that he should 
not have been there ; and that every man should be content to serve in that station in 
which he could be most useful ; that for his part he had but one object in view, and that 
was the success of the cause, and that God could witness how cheerfully he would lay 
down his life to secure it." Little, adds the writer, did he or any of the company then 
think that a few fleeting hours would seal the compact. 

CoL. Fielding Lewis, who married Elizabeth, a sister of Washington, resided in 
Fredericksburg on the farm where lies buried Mary, the mother of Washington. He 
was proprietor of half the town, and of an extensive territory adjoining. He was an 
ardent patriot of the revolutionary war, and superintended the great manufactory of 
arms in this neighborhood at that time. He was also a magistrate, and represented the 
county in the legislature. He died in Dec, 1781, aged 55, universally respected and 
esteemed. His valuable estate was divided equally among his sons. His children were 
Capt. Fielding Lewis ; Capt. George Lewis, a captain of Washington's life guard ; 
Elizabeth Lewis, who married Charles Carter, Esq. ; Maj. Lawrence Lewis, who was 
aid to Gen. Morgan in suppressing the Whiskey Insurrection; and Capt. Robert Lewis, 
who was one of Washington's private secretaries. 

Opposite Fredericksburg, on the east side of the Rappahannock, below the rail-road 
bridge, and within the limits of Stafford county, is " The Washington Farm," at present 
the property of the Rev. Thomas Teasdale. A few years after the birth of Washington, 
his father, Augustine Washington, removed with his family to this place, where he re- 
sided until his death, April 12th, 1743, at the age of 49. The house in which he re- 
sided has long since been gone : it stood near the present residence of Mr. King, from 
■vvhieh spot the view of Fredericksburg in this volume was taken. Here it was that 
Washington spent his early youth ; and here, says tradition, is the place where, when a 
young man, he threw a stone across the Rappahannock, — a feat that no one, it is said, 
has since succeeded in accomplishing. 

Sparks, in his life of Washington, says that his father was buried at Bridge's Creek, 
Westmoreland county, in the tomb of his ancestors. " Little is known," says the same 
author, " of his character or his acts. It appears by his will, however, that he possessed 
a large and valuable property in lands ; and as this had been acquired chiefly by his own 
industry and enterprise, it may be inferred that in the concerns of business he was 



SPOTTSYLVANIA COUNTY. 483 

methodical, skilful, honorable, and energetic. His occupation was that of a planter, 
which, from the first settlement of the country, had been the pursuit of nearly all the 
principal gentlemen of Virginia. 

" Each of his sons inherited from him a separate plantation. To the eldest, Law- 
rence, he bequeathed an estate near Hunting creek, afterwards Mount Vernon, which 
then consisted of 2,500 acres ; and also other lands, and shares in iron works situated in 
Maryland and Virginia, which were productive. The second son had for his part an 
estate in Westmoreland. To George were left the lands where his father lived at the 
time of his decease ; and to each of the other sons, an estate of six or seven hundred 
acres. The youngest daughter died when an infant, and for the only remaining one a 
suitable provision was made in the will. It is thus seen that Augustine Washington, 
although suddenly cut off in the vigor of manhood, left all his children in a state of 
comparative independence. Confiding in the prudence of the mother, he directed that 
all the proceeds of the property of her children should be at her disposal, till they should 
respectively come of age. 

" This weighty charge of five children, the eldest of whom was eleven years old, the 
superintendence of their education, and the management of complicated affairs, de- 
manded no common share of resolution, resource of mind, and strength of character. 
In these important duties Mrs. Washington acquitted herself with great fidelity to her 
trust, and with entire success. Her good sense, assiduity, tenderness, and vigilance, 
overcame every obstacle ; and as the richest reward of a mother's solicitude and toil, 
she had the happiness to see all her children come forward with a fair promise into life, 
filling the sphere allotted to them in a manner equally honorable to themselves and to 
the parent who had been the only guide of their principles, conduct, and habits. She 
lived to witness the noble career of her illustrious son, till, by his own rare merits, he was 
raised to the head of a nation, and applauded and revered by the whole world. It has 
been said, that there never was a great man, the elements of whose greatness might 
not be traced to the original characteristics or early influence of his mother. If this 
be true, how much do mankind owe to the mother of Washington." 

The maiden name of the mother of Washington was Mary Ball, and she was the 
second wife of her husband. Her father. Col. Ball, resided in Lancaster county. The 
dwelling alluded to in the succeeding extract from Alden's Collection is now standing 
_in Fredericksburg, on the se. comer of Charles and Lewis streets, and is at present the 
residence of Richard Sterling, Esq. It is a plain, substantial two-story dwelling, of the 
ordinary architecture, and painted white. 

She died in this house, in the autumn of 1789, at the age of 85 years. She was 
buried on a beautiful swell of land which belonged to her son-in-law. Col. Fielding Lewis, 
on a spot which she had selected for her grave. " Within a few steps from the place 
where she lies interred is a romantic ledge of rocks, to which she used often to resort 
for private meditation and devotion. She was a lady of uncommon excellence, and was 
greatly endeared to all who had the happiness of her acquaintance. She was truly es- 
timable in all the relations of life ; but among the distinguished traits of her character, 
none was more remarkable than her constant and generous attentions to the necessities 
of the poor. She for years was expecting the approach of death from a deep-rooted 
cancer in her breast ; and was long desirous to lay aside her clayey tabernacle to depart 
and be with Christ, in whom was all her hope ; yet she was enabled to exercise a be- 
coming resignation to the will of God under all the sufferings she endured from her ex- 
cruciating disorder." There is now over her grave a beautiful, though unfinished monu- 
inent. 



In the grave-yard at Fredericksburg lie the remains of Lkwis Littlepage, who was 
born in Hanover co., Dec. 19, 1762, and died in this place, July 19, 1802, in the 40th 
year of his age. He lost his father when young. At tl>e request of his uncle, Benja- 
min Lewis, Mr. Jay, minister at Madrid, was induced to patronise him, and received him 
into his family. He volunteered in the expedition against Minorca, under the Duke de 
Crillon, in 1781 ; and afterwards accompanied the Count Nassau to the siege of Gibral- 
tar, and thence to Constantinople and Warsaw. He was " honored for many years 
with the esteem and confidence of the unfortunate Stanislaus Augustus, king of Poland , 
he held under that monarch, until he lost his throne, the most distinguished offices, among 
which was that of ambassador to Russia. He was by him created Knight of the Order 
of St. Stanislaus, chamberlain and confidential secretary in his cabinet, and acted as 
his special envoy among the most important negotiations. Of talents, military as well 



484 STAFFORD COUNTY. 

as civil, he served with credit as an officer of high rank, in different armies. In private 
Jife he was charitable, generous, and just, and in various public offices which he filled, 
he acted with uniform magnanimity, fidelity, and honor."* When he was in New York 
in 1785, Mr. Jay arrested him for a debt of $1,000, without interest, for money 
lent him years before. In consequence, Littlepage challenged him. The correspond- 
ence between them was published, in which Mr. Jay " complained not only of the pecu- 
niary imposition, but also of other abuse, as he expresses himself, from the young maUi 
with my money in his pocket, and my meat still sticking in his teeth.' " 

John Forsyth of Georgia, " a man of talents and eloquence, who had been long dis- 
tinguished in public life, and held many important offices, was born at Fredericksburg, 
in 1781. He was graduated at New Jersey College in 1799 ; was member of Congress 
from Georgia in 1813-18, and in 1827-29 ; United States senator in 1818-19, and in 
1829-35 ; governor of Georgia in 1827-29 ; minister to Spain 1819-22 ; and was ap- 
pointed secretary of state by Gen. Jackson in 1835, which office he held till the end of 
Mr. Van Buren's administration. ' The high offices which, during a great portion of 
his life, he successfully filled, both in his own particular state and the general govern- 
ment, attest at once the superiority of his abilities and the public estimation of them. To 
the high advantage of superior talents, he added, also, that of elegance and dignity of 
manners, which shed a grace on the exalted stations which he filled.' " He died at 
Washington cjty, Oct. 82, 1841, at the age of 61 years. 



STAFFORD. 

Staffobd was formed in 1675, from Westmoreland. Its length 
is 20, mean width 12 miles. The Rappahannock runs on its sw. 
border, the Potomac on its e. boundary ; the rail-road from Fred- 
ericksburg to the Potornac runs through it. On the streams there 
is considerable good land, elsewhere the soil is generally worn out 
by injudicious agriculture. Gold exists in the county. Pop. in 
1840, whites 4,489, slaves 3,596, free colored 369 ; total 8,454. 

Falmouth lies on the left bank of the Rappahannock, at the foot 
of the falls, about one mile above the town of Fredericksburg. A 
substantial bridge connects it with the Spottsylvania shore. It 
was incorporated and laid out in 1727, the same year with Fred- 
ericksburg, and was at one time the rival of that town. It con- 
tains 1 free church, 6 or 7 mercantile stores, 2 extensive flouring 
mills, and 1 large cotton factory, and a population of about 500. 

Stafford C. H. lies near the centre of the county, and contains 
about a dozen dwellings. The following biographical sketch of 
Col. Washington, is from the pen of his brother officer. Col. Henry 
Lee, or, as he was commonly called, " Legion Harry :" 

WiLLUU Washington, neutenant-colonel commandant of a continental regiment of 
dragoons during the revolutionary war, was the eldest son of Baily Washington, Esq., 
of Stafford county, in the state of Virginia. 

First among the youth of Virginia who hastened to the standard of his country, on 
the rupture between Great Britain and her colonies, he was appointed to the command 
of a company of infantry in the third regiment of the Virginia line, commanded by 
colonel, afterwards brigadier-general, Mercer. In no corps in our service was the sub- 
stantial knowledge of the profession of arms more likely to be acquired. 

Here young Washington learned the rudiments of war. He fought with this gallant 
regiment at York island, and on the retreat through New Jersey, sharing with distin- 

* A14en'8 Collections. 



STAFFORD COUNTY. 485 

jfuished applause in that disastrous period, its difficulties, its dangers, and its glory. 
When afterwards the commander-in-chief struck at Colonel Ralle, stationed with a body 
of Hessians in Trenton, Capt. Washington was attached to the van of one of the assail- 
ing columns, and in that daring and well-executed enterprise, received a musket-ball 
through his hand, bravely leading on his company against the arraying enemy. 

The commander-in-chief having experienced the extreme difficulties to which he had 
been exposed during the preceding campaign, by his want of cavalry, was, shortly after 
this period, in consequence of his suggestion to Congress, authorized to raise three regi- 
ments of light dragoons. To the command of one of these he appointed Lieut. -Ccl. 
Baylor, one of his aid-de-camps. To this regiment Captain Washington was transfer- 
red, with the rank of major, and returned to Virginia for the purpose of assisting in re- 
cruiting the regiment. 

As soon as the corps was completed, Baylor joined the main army ; his regiment was, 
in 1778, surprised by a detachment of the British, led by Major-Gen. Gray, and suffered 
extremely. Washington fortunately escaped ; and in the course of the succeeding year, 
or early in 1780, he was detached, with the remains of Bland's, Baylor's, and Moylan'a 
regiments of horse, to the army of Major-Gen. Lincoln, in South Carolina, where he 
was constantly employed with the light troops, and experienced, with some flashes of 
fortune, two severe blows ; first at Monk's Corner, where he commanded our horse, and 
last at Leneau's ferry, when he was second to Lieut.-Col. White, of Moylan's regiment. 
These repeated disasters so reduced our cavalry, that White and Washington retired 
from the field, and repaired to the northern confines of North Carolina for the purpose 
of repairing their heavy losses. It was here that they applied to Gen. Gates for the aid 
of his name and authority to expedite the restoration and equipment of their regiments, 
that they might be ready to take the field under his orders. This salutary and proper 
request was, as has been mentioned, injudiciously disregarded ; from which omission 
very injurious consequences seem to have resulted in the sequel. 

After the defeat of Gen. Gates on the 16th of the following August, it will be recol- 
lected that the American general retired to Hillsborough, from whence he returned to 
Salisbury. 

Lieut.-Col. Washington, with his cavalry, now accompanied him, and formed a part 
of the light corps placed by Gates under the direction of Brigadier Morgan. He re- 
sumed his accustomed active and vigorous service, and was highly useful in the execu- 
tion of the trust confided to Morgan. 

One of his partisan exploits was the result of a well-conceived stratagem. Having 
learned, during a scouting excursion, that a large party of loyalists, commanded by Col. 
Rudgley, was posted at Rudgley's mill, 12 miles from Camden, he determined on at- 
tacking them. Approaching the enemy, he found them so secured in a large log-barn, 
surrounded by abattis, as to be perfectly safe from the operations of cavalry. Forbidden, 
thus, to attempt his object by direct attack, his usual and favorite mode of warfare, he 
determined, for once, to have recourse to policy. Shaping, therefore, a pine log in imi- 
tation of a field-piece, mounting it on wheels, and staining it with mud, to make it 
look like iron, he brought it up in military style, and affected to make arrangements to 
batter down the barn. To give to the stratagem solemnity and effect, he dispatched a 
flag, warning the garrison of the impending destruction, and to prevent bloodshed, sum- 
moned them to submission. Not prepared to resist artillery. Col. Rudgley obeyed the 
summons, and with a garrison of 103 rank and file, surrendered at discretion. 

Greene now succeeded Gates, when Brigadier Morgan, with the light corps, was de- 
tached to hang upon the enemy's left flank, and to threaten Ninety-Six. 

The battle of the Cowpens ensued, in which Washington, at the head of our horse, 
acquired fresh laurels. He continued with the light troops, performing with courage and 
precision the duties assigned him, until the junction of the two divisions of the American 
army at Guilford Court-House, Soon after this event a more powerful body of horse 
and foot was selected by Gen. Greene, and placed under Col. Williams, of which Wash- 
ington and his cavalry were a constituent part. 

In the eventful and trying retreat which ensued, Lieut.-Col. Washington contributed 
his full share to the maintenance of the measures of Williams, which terminated so pro- 
pitiously to our arms, and so honorably to the light troops and their commander. After 
our repassage of the Dan, Washington and his horse were again placed in the van, and 
with Howard and Lee, led by Williams, played that arduous game of marches, counter- 
marches, and manoeuvres, which greatly contributed to baffle the skilful display of ta- 
lents and enterprise exhibited by Lord Cornwallis, in his persevering attempt to force 
Greene, at the head of an inferior army, to battle, or to cut him off from his approach- 
ing reinforcements and supplies. 



486 SUREY COUNTY. 

We have seen the distinguished part this officer successively bore in the battles of 
Guilford, Hobkick's Hill, and Eutaw ; and we have found him, throughout the arduous 
campaign of 1781, always at his post, decided, firm, and brave, courting danger, and 
contemning difficulty. His eminent services were lost to the army from the battle of 
Eutaw ; where, to its great regret, he was made prisoner ; nor did he afterwards take 
any part in the war, as from the period of his exchange nothing material occurred, the 
respective armies being confined to minor operations, produced by the prospect of peace. 
While a prisoner in Charleston, Washington became acquainted with Miss Elliot, a 
young lady in whom concentred the united attractions of respectable descent, opulence, 
polish, and beauty. The gallant soldier soon became enamored with his amiable ac- 
quaintance, and afterwards married her. 

This happened in the spring of 1782 ; and he established himself in South Carolina, 
at Sandy Hill, the ancestral seat of his wife. 

Washington seems to have devoted his subsequent years to domestic duties, rarely 
breaking in upon them by attention to public affairs ; and then only as a member of the 
state legislature. 

He possessed a stout frame, being six feet in height, broad, strong, and corpulent. His 
occupations and his amusements applied to the body, rather than to the mind ; to the 
cultivation of which he did not bestow much time or application, nor was his education 
of the sort to excite such habits, being only calculated to fit a man for the common 
business of life. In temper he was good-humored, in disposition amiable, in heart up- 
right, generous, and friendly, in manners lively, innocent, and agreeable. 

His military exploits announce his grade and character in arms. Bold, collected, and 
persevering, he preferred the heat of action to the collection and sifting of intelligence, 
to the calculations and combinations of means and measures, and was better fitted for 
the field of battle, than for the drudgery of camp and the watchfulness of preparation. 
Kind to his soldiers, his system of discipline was rather lax, and sometimes subjected 
him to injurious consequences, when close to a sagacious and vigilant adversary. 

The Washington family emigrated from England, and settled in Virginia, always re- 
spectable and respected. The consanguinity of its numerous ramifications is involved 
in doubt ; but it is generally believed that they sprung from the same source. 

Lieut.-Col. Washington was selected by his illustrious relation when he accepted the 
command of the army, during the presidency of Mr. Adams, as one of his staff, with 
the rank of brigadier-general, a decided proof of the high value attached by the best 
judge in America to his military talents. 

Leading a life of honor, of benevolence, and hospitality, in the bosom of his family 
and friends, during which, until its last two years, he enjoyed high health, this gallant 
soldier died, after a tedious indisposition, leaving a widow, and a son and a daughter, 
the only issue of his marriage. 



SURRY. 



Surry was formed in 1652 : it measures each way about 18 
miles. The James runs on its northern, and the Blackwater River 
on a portion of its southern line. Pop. in 1840, whites 2,557, 
slaves 2,853, free colored 1,070 ; total, 6,480. 

The C. H. is situated 5 miles s. of James River, and 55 south- 
easterly from Richmond. There is in this county, on or near the 
James, an antique mansion, called " Bacon's Castle," supposed by 
some to have been once fortified by Nathaniel Bacon, the leader of 
" the Rebellion" in 1676. On what ground this supposition rests, 
we have been unable to ascertain. 



TAZEWELL COUNTY , 4S7 



SUSSEX. 

Sussex was formed in 1754, from Surry: it is about 32 miles 
long, and 18 wide. The rail-road from Petersburg to Weldon, N. 
C, runs through a portion of it on the west. The Nottoway runs 
centrally through it, and the Blackwater forms a part of its ne. 
boundary. About 500,000 pounds of cotton are annually produced 
in the county. Pop. in 1840, whites 3,584, slaves 6,384, free col- 
ored 811 ; total, 11,229. 

The C. H. is situated near the centre of the county, 48 miles sse. 
of Richmond. 



TAYLOR. 

Taylor was formed Jan. 19th, 1844, from Harrison, Barbour, 
and Marion, and named from John Taylor of Caroline. Williams- 
port, sometimes called PruntyTown,is the county-seat. It is situ- 
ated near the ferry across Tygart's Valley River, 209 miles north- 
westerly from Richmond, and 18 ne. by e. from Clarlcsburg. It 
contains 3 stores, 1 Methodist and 1 Baptist church, and about 30 
dwellings. Rector College, an institution founded in 1839, is lo- 
cated here ; it had, by the census of 1840, 110 students. 

As this county has been so recently formed, we are unable to 
give its statistics or geographical boundaries, and the counties from 
which it has been formed have, in those particulars, been described 
in this volume as though it had no existence. 



TAZEWELL. 

Tazewell was formed in 1799, from Russell and Wythe, and 
named from Henry Tazewell, a member of the U. S. Senate, from 
1794 to 1799. It is 60 miles long, with a mean width of 25 
miles. The Tug Fork of Big Sandy runs on part of the northern 
border ; the Clinch River rises near JefFersonville, and the Great 
Kanawha receives many branches from the eastern section of the 
county. It is traversed by mountains, some of which rise to an 
immense height ; the chief are, Clinch, Rich, East River, and Paint 
Lick. Between some of them are beautiful valleys, of a black, 
deep soil, very fertile. Abb's Valley, a delightful tract, 10 miles 
long, and about 40 rods wide, with no stream running through it, 
and bounded by lofty mountains, possesses a soil of extraordinary 
fertility. It derives its name from Absalom Looney, a hunter, "who 
is supposed to have been the first white person ever in it. Inex- 
haustible quarries of limestone exist in the county, and extensive 



488 TAZEWELL COUNTY. 

beds of excellent coal. The principal staples are cattle, horses, 
hogs, feathers, tow and flax linen, beeswax, ginseng, seneca snake- 
root, &c., &c. The mean height of the arable soil is about 2,200 
feet above the level of the ocean. Pop. in 1840, whites 6,466, 
slaves 786. colored 38 ; total, 6,290. 




Mountain Scenery, 

Jeffersonville, the county-seat, is 284 miles southwesterly from 
Richmond, and 30 west of Wythe C. H. It is situated on the south 
side of Clinch River, one mile from its bank, and contains 1 church, 
3 stores, and about 25 dwellings. Burke's Garden, 10 miles e. of 
Jeffersonville, is a remarkable spot. It is completely surrounded 
by Clinch mountain, except a narrow pass, through which flows 
Wolf creek. It is 11 miles long, and 5 wide, and is a beautiful 
and perfect level ; the soil is naturally fertile. A post-office is in 
it, and the settlement contains a church and about 500 inhabitants. 

It was late in a November evening that we ascended the lofty 



TAZEWELL COUNtV. 489 

Clinch mountain, after leaving Tazewell C. H. for Abingdon, and 
put up for the night at a miserable hut on its summit. The next 
morning the sun shone bright and clear as we buckled on our knap- 
sack and resumed our journey through a light snow which cov- 
ered the mountain-road that winds with great steepness down the 
declivity. In about half a mile was presented a scene of which none 
but a painting in the highest style of art can convey an adequate 
impression. The whole of a vast landscape was filled wdth a sea 
of mountains beyond mountains, in an apparently interminable 
continuity. Near, were huge mountains, dark and frowning, in 
the desolation of winter. Beyond, they assumed a deep blue color, 
and then grew fainter and fainter, until far away in the horizon — • 
fifty or sixty miles — their jagged outlines were softened by distance, 
and sky and mountain met and mingled in the same light ceru- 
lean hue. Not a clearing was to be seen — not even a solitary 
smoke from some cabin curled up the intervening valleys to indicate 
the presence of man. It was — 

" A wild and lonely region, where, retired 
From little scenes of art, great Nature dwelt 
In awful solitude." 



From a worthy pastor of a church in the Shenandoah valley, 
we have received the following account of the captivity and de^ 
struction of the Moore family, by the Indians, a few years after the 
close of the revolution : 

James Moore, Jr., was a lineal descendant of the Rev. Samuel Rutherford, of Scot" 
land ; the latter being a descendant of the Rev. Joseph Allein, the author of the 
" Alarm to the Unconverted." Mr. Moore's parents were among those who, during the 
persecutions under Charles I., emigrated from Scotland to the north of Ireland, the 
descendants of whom, in this country, come under the general name of " Scotch Irish." 
From Ireland he emigrated to Virginia, and settled in what is now Rockbridge county, 
on Walker's creek. There he married Jane Walker, and there James Moore, the subject 
of this sketch, was born. When the latter grew up he married Martha Podge, of the 
same county, and settled near the Natural Bridge, at a place long known as " Newel's 
Tavern." There his three oldest children, John, James, and Joseph, were born. About 
the year 1775, he removed to what is now Tazewell county, and settled in Abb's valley, 
on the waters of Blue Stone, a branch of New Riven He was induced to emigrate to 
that country on account of the fertility of the soil, and its adaptedness to raising stock. 
There, with the aid of an old Englishman whose name was John Simpson, he erected 
his cabin ; and with his pious wife, both being members of the Presbyterian church, he 
erected his altar to God, cleared a piece of ground, and there resided with his family 
until they were destroyed ; frequently going into a fort, which was almost every summer. 
The first of his family who was captured was James, his second son, a lad in the 14th 
year of his age. This occurred September 7th, 1784. Mr. Moore, the captive, who ia 
still living, gives this account of that event : 

My father had sent me to a waste plantation, about 2J miles distant, to catch a horse 
on which I might go to mill. As we lived about 12 miles from the mill, and the road 
for the whole distance thither leading through a dreary wilderness, I had frequently to 
come home a considerable part of the way after night, when it was very dark. Being 
accustomed to this, I set out for the horse without the least intimidation, or apprehension 
of danger. But notwithstanding this, I had not proceeded more than half the distance 
to the field, before a sudden dread, or panic, came on me. The appearance of the Indian 
who took me was presented to my mind, although at the time I did not think of an 
Indian, but rather that some wild animal in human Shape would devour me. Such was 
my alarm that I went on trembling, frequently looking baok, expecting to see it. Indeed 

62 



490 TAZEWELL COUNTY. 

I would have returned home, but for the fear that with such an excuse my father would 
be displeased, and perhaps send me back. I therefore proceeded on until I came near 
the field, when suddenly three Indians sprang from behind a log, one of whom laid hold 
of me. Being much alarmed at the time with the apprehension of being devoured, and 
believing this to be the animal I had dreaded, I screamed with all my might. The In- 
dian who had hold of me laid his hand on my head, and, in the Indian language, told 
me to hush. Looking him in the face, and perceiving that it was an Indian, I felt greatly 
relieved, and spoke out aloud, " It is an Indian, why need I fear;" and thought to my- 
self, " All that is in it is, I will have to go to the Shawnee towns." In this company 
there were only three Indians, a father and son, and one other ; the former bearing the 
name of the " Black Wolf," a middle-aged man, of the most stern countenance I ever 
beheld, about six feet high, having a black beard. The others I suppose were about 18 
years of age, and all of the Shawnee triba I belonged to the Black Wolf, who had 
captured me. We immediately proceeded to an old cabin, near to which were the horses. 
Here we made a halt, and the old Wolf told me to catch the horses, and gave me some 
salt for that purpose. My object was to catch one and mount, and make my escape ; 
but suspecting my intention, as often as I would get hold of a horse they would come 
running up, and thus scare him away. Finding tliat I could not get a horse for myself, 
I had no wish, and did not try to catch one for them, and so, after a few efforts, aban- 
doned the attempt. This I suppose was about one o'clock in the afternoon. The Indians 
then went into a thicket where were concealed their kettle and blankets, after whieh we 
immediately proceeded on our journey. In consequence of the high weeds, green briers, 
logs, and the steep and mountainous character of the country, the walking was very 
laborious, and we travelled that evening only about 8 miles. The two younger Indians 
went before, myself next, with the old Wolf in the rear. If marks were made, he would 
carefully remove them with his tomahawk. I frequently broke bushes, which he discov- 
ered, and shook his tomahawk over my head to let me know the consequences if I did 
not desist. I would then scratch the ground with my feet. This he also discovered, 
and made me desist, showing me how to set my feet flat, so as not to leave any mark. 
It then became necessary to cease my efforts to make a trail for others, as they were all 
immediately detected. In the evening, about sundown, the old Wolf gave a tremendous 
war-whoop, and another the next morning at sunrise. These were repeated evening and 
morning during our whole journey. It was long, loud, and shrill, and intended to signify 
that they had one prisoner. Their custom is to repeat it as frequent as the number of 
prisoners. It is different from their whoop when they have scalps, and in this way it can 
be known as far as the whoop is heard, whether they have prisoners or scalps, and also 
the number. But to return, the night was rainy. We lay down in a laurel thicket, 
without food or fire. Previous to this, the old Wolf had searched me carefully, to see 
whether I had a knife. After this he tied one end of a leading-halter very tightly around 
my neck, and wrapped the other end around hit hand, so as to make it secure, as well 
as very difficult for me to get away without waking him. Notwithstanding my situation 
was thus dreary, gloomy, and distressing, I was not altogether prevented from sleep. 
Indeed, I suppose few prisoners were ever more resigned to their fate. The next morn- 
ing we resumed our journey about daybreak, and continued down Tug creek about two 
miles, until we reached the main ridge of Tug mountain, along which we descended 
until we came to Maxwell's Gap.* At this place the old Wolf went off and brought 
in a middle-sized Dutch-oven, which had been secreted on their former expedition. The 
carriage of this was assigned to me. At first it was fastened to my back, but after suf- 
fering much I threw it down, saying I would carry it no more. Upon this the old Wolf 
placed down his bundle and told me to carry it, but on finding that I could not lift it I 
became more reconciled, took up the oven again, and after some days filled it with leaves, 
and carried it with more ease. We continued on the same ridge the whole of that day, 
and encamped on it at night. In the evening there came on a rain, and the son of the 
Black Wolf pulled off my hat. This I resented, struck him, and took it from him. He 
then showed me by signs that with it he wished to protect his gunlock from the rain. 
I then permitted him to have it, and after the rain he returned it. For three days we 
travelled without sustenance of any kind, save some water in which poplar bark had been 
steeped. On the 4th day we killed a buffalo, took out the paunch, cut it open, rinsed it 
a little in the water, cut it up, and put it into the kettle with some pieces of the flesh, 
and made broth. Of this we drank heartily, without eating any of the meat. After 

* This gap took its name from a man by the name of Maxwell, who was there killed by the Indians 
while in pursuit of the wife of Thomas English, of Burke's Garden, who had beei taken by a party of 
Indians, ut the head of which was this same Wolf. 



TAZEWELL COUNTY. 491 

night we made another kettle of broth, but ate no meat. This is Indian policy after 
fasting. 

I travelled the whole route barefooted ; the consequence was that I had three stone- 
bruises on each foot, and at this time my sufferings were very great. Frequently 1 
would walk over rattlesnakes, but was not permitted to kill any, the Indians considering 
them their friends. 

Some few days after this, we killed a buffalo that was very fat, and dried as much of 
the meat as lasted us for several days. After this we killed deer and buffaloes as our 
wants required, until we reached their towns, near what is now called Chillicothe, in 
Ohio, just 20 days from the time we set out. We crossed the Ohio between the mouth 
of Guyandot and Big Sandy, on a raft made of dry logs, and tied together with grape- 
vines. On the banks of the Scioto we remained one day. Here they made pictures to rep- 
resent three Indians, and me their prisoner. Near this place the old Wolf went off and 
procured some bullets which he had secreted. 

When we came near the towns the Indians painted themselves black, but did not 
paint me. This was an omen of my safety. I was not taken directly into the town, 
but to the residence of Wolf's half-sister, to whom I was sold for an old horse. The 
reason why I was not taken directly to the town, was, I suppose, 1st, because it was a 
time of peace ; 2dly, that I n?-ight be saved from running the gauntlet, which was the 
case with prisoners taken in war. Shortly after I was sold, my mistress left me entirely 
alone for several days in her wigwam, leaving a kettle of hommony for me to eat. In this 
solitary situation I first began to pray, and call upon God for mercy and deliverance, 
and found great relief. Having cast my burdens on the Lord, I would arise from my 
knees and go off cheerfully. I had been taught to pray. My father prayed in his 
family ; and I now found the benefit of the religious instruction and example I had 
enjoyed. 

On one occasion while on our journey, I was sent some distance for water. Suppo- 
sing that I was entirely out of view, I gave vent to my feelings, and wept abundantly. 
The old Indian, however, had watched me, and noticing tlie marks of tears on my 
cheeks, he shook his tomahawk over my head to let me know I must not do so again. 
Their object in sending me off, was, I suppose, to see whether I would attempt to escape, 
as the situation appeared favorable for that purpose. After this I was no longer fastened 
with a halter. 

In about two weeks after I was sold, my mistress sent me, with others, on a hunting 
excursion. In this we were very unsuccessful. The snow being knee-deep, my blanket 
too short to cover me, and having very little other clothing, my sufferings from hunger 
and cold were intense. Often after having lain down, and drawn up my feet to get 
them under the blanket, I became so benumbed that it was with difficulty I could 
straighten myself again. Early in the morning the old Indian would build up a large fire, 
and make me and the young Indians plunge all over in cold w^ater. This, I think, was 
of great benefit, as it prevented us from taking cold. 

When we returned from hunting in the spring, the old man gave me up to Capt. 
Elliot, a trader from Detroit. But my mistress, on learning this, became very angry, 
threatened Elliot, and got me back. 

Some time in April, there was a dance at a town about two miles from where I resided. 
This I attended, in company with the Indian to whom I belonged. Meeting with a 
French trader from Detroit, by the name of Batest Ariome, who took a fancy to me on 
account of my resemblance to one of his sons, he bought me for 50 dollars in Indian 
money.* Before leaving the dance I met with a Mr. Sherlock, a trader from Ky., 
who had formerly been a prisoner to this same tribe of Indians, and who had rescued a 
lad by the name of Moffit, who had been captured by the Indians on the head of the 
Clinch, and whose father was an intimate and particular friend of my father's.! I re- 
quested Mr. Sherlock to write to my father, through Mr. Mofiit, informing him of my 
captivity, and that I had been purchased by a French trader, and was gone to Detroit. 
This letter, I have reason to believe, father received, and that it gave him the first infor- 
mation of what had become of me. 

But we must pause in this narrative, to notice the destruction and captivity of the 
remaining part of Mr. Moore's family. 

There being only a few families in the part of Va. where Mr. Moore resided, the 
Indians from the Shawanee towns made frequent incursions upon them. Consequently 

* This consisted of silver brooches, crosses, &c. 

I Mr. Moffit hud removed t» Ky., and was then living there. 



492 TAZEWELL COIJNTy. 

most of t'le families returned to the more thickly settled parts of what is now Mont- 
gomery CO., &,c., but Mr. Moore still remained. Such was the fertility of the soil, and 
the adaptedness of the country to grazing, that Mr. M. kept about 100 head of horses, 
and a good stock of cattle, which principally wintered themselves. On the 14th of 
July, 1786, early in the morning, a gang of horses had come in from the range to the 
lick-blocks, about 100 yards from the house, and Mr. Moore had gone out to salt them. 
Two men also, who were Hying with him, had gone out, and were reaping wheat. The 
Indians, about 30 in number, who were lying in ambush, watcliing the house, supposing 
that all the men were alisent, availed themselves of the opportunity and rushed forward 
with all speed. As they advanced they commenced firing, and killed two of the children, 
viz. William and Rebecca, who were returning from the spring, and Alexander in the 
yard. Mr. Moore attempted to get to the house, but finding it surrounded, ran past it 
through a small pasture in which the house stood. When he reached the fence he made 
a halt, and was shot through with seven bullets. The Indians said he might have 
escaped if he had not stopped on the fence. After he was shot he ran about 40 yards, 
and fell. He was then scalped by the Indians, and afterwards buried by the whites at 
the place where the body lay, and where his grave may yet be seen. It was thought 
that when he saw his family about to be massacred, without the possibility of rendering 
them assistance, he chose to share a like fate. There were two fierce dogs, which 
fought like heroes until the fiercest one was killed. The two men who were reaping, 
hearing the alarm, and seeing the house surrounded, fled, and alarmed the settlement. 
At that time the nearest family was distant 6 miles. As soon as the alarm was given, 
Mrs. Moore and Martha Ivins* barred the door, but this was of no avail. There was 
no man in the house at the time except John Simpson, the old Englishman already 
alluded to, and he was on the loft sick, and in bed. There were five or six guns in the 
house, but having been shot off the evening before, they were then empty. It was in- 
tended to have loaded them after breakfast. Martha Ivins took two of them and went 
up stairs where Simpson was, and handing them to him, told him to shoot. He looked 
up, but had been shot in the head through a crack, and was then near his end. The 
Indians then proceeded to cut down the door, which they soon effected. During this time 
Martha Ivins went to the far end of the house, lifted up a loose plank, and went under 
the floor, and requested Polly Moore, (then eight years of age,) who had the youngest 
child, called Margaret, in her arms, (which was crying,) to set the child down and 
Qome under. Polly looked at the child, clasped it to her breast, and determined to share 
its fate. The Indians having broken into the house, took Mrs. Moore and her children, 
viz. ; John, Jane, Polly, and Peggy, prisoners, and having taken every thing that suited 
them, they set it and the other buildings on fire, and then went away. Martha Ivins 
remained under the floor a short time, and then came out and hid herself under a log 
that lay across a branch not far from the house. The Indians having tarried a short 
time with the view of catching horses, one of them walked across this log, sat down on 
the end of it, and began to fix his gun-lock. Miss Ivins supposing that she was discovered, 
and that he was preparing to shoot her, came out and gave herself up. At this he 
seemed much pleased. They then set out for their towns. Perceiving that John Moore 
was a boy weak in body and mind, and unable to travel, they killed him the first day. 
The babe they took two or three days, but it being fretful, on account of a wound it had 
received, they dashed its brains out against a tree. They then moved on with haste to 
their towns. For some time it was usual to tie very securely each of the prisoners at 
night, and for a warrior to lie beside each of them with tomahawk in hand, so that in 
case of pursuit the prisoners might be speedily dispatched. Their manner of travelling 
was very much like that described by James Moore. Not unfrequently they were 
several days without food, and when they killed game, their habit was to make 
broth as described by him. When they came to the banks of the Scioto, they carefully 
pointed out to Mrs. Moore and the prisoners, the hieroglyphics mentioned in the narra- 
tive of James Moore. When they reached their town, (which was the one to which James 
Moore had been taken,) they were soon assembled in council, when an old man made 
a long speech to them dissuading them from war ; but at the close of it the warriors 
shook their heads, and retired. This old man afterwards took Polly Moore into his 
family, where he and his wife seemed greatly to commiserate her situation, and showed 
all possible kindness. 

Shortly after they reached the towns, Mrs. Moore and her daughter Jane were put to 
death, being burned and tortured at the stake. This lasted some ti.me, during which 

* Miss Ivins was living in tlie family at the time, helping them to spin ; Joseph Moore, another son 
was in RocUbridge co., going to school. 



TAZEWELL COUNTY. 493 

she manifested the utmost Christian fortitude, and bore it without a murmar — at inter- 
vals conversing with her daughter Polly and Martha Ivins, and expressing great anxiety 
for the moment to arrive when her soul should wing its way to the bosom of her 
Saviour. At length an old squaw, more humane than the rest, dispatched her with a 
tomahawk.* 

This tribe of Indians proving very troublesome to the whites, it was repeatedly con- 
templated to send an expedition against their town. This it is probable Martha Ivins in 
some measure postponed, by sending communications through the traders, urging the 
probable fate of the prisoners, if it were done immediately. In November, two years 
afterwards, however, such an expedition did go out. The Indians were aware of it 
from about the time it started, and when it drew near they concealedewhat they could 
not carry off, and with the prisoners, deserted their towns. About this time Polly Moore 
had serious thoughts of concealing herself until the arrival of the whites ; but fearing 
the consequences of a greater delay in their arrival than she might anticipate, she 
did not attempt it. 

Late in November, however, the expedition did arrive, and after having burned their 
towns, destroyed their corn, &c., returned home. After this the Indians returned to 
their towns ; but winter having set in, and finding themselves without houses or food, 
they were greatly dispirited, and went to Detroit, where, giving themselves up to great ex- 
cess in drinking, they sold Polly Moore to a man who lived in or near a little village by 
the name of French Town, near the western end of Lake Erie, for half a gallon of rum. 
Though at this time the winter was very severe, the released captive had nothing to 
protect her feet but a pair of deerskin moccasins, and the state of her other clothing will 
presently appear. But it is now time to resume the narrative of James Moore. 

" Mr. and Mrs. Ariome were to me parents indeed. They treated me like one of their 
own sons. I ate at their table, and slept with their sons in a good feather-bed. They 
always gave me good counsel, and advised me, (particularly Mrs. Ariome,) not to abandon 
the idea of returning to my friends. I worked on the farm with his sons, and occasion- 
ally assisted him in his trading expeditions. We traded at different places, and some- 
times went a considerable distance into the country. On one of these occasions, four 
young Indians began to boast of their bravery, and among other things said that one 
Indian could whip four white men. This provoked me, and I told them that I could 
whip all four of them. They immediately attacked me ; but Mr. Ariome hearing the 
noise, came and took me away. This I consider a kind Providence ; for the Indians are 
very unskilful in boxing, and in this manner of fighting, I could easily have whipped 
all of them ; but when they began to find themselves worsted, I expected them to at- 
tack me with clubs, or some other weapon, and if so, had laid my plans to kill them all 
with a knife which I had concealed in my belt, mount a fleet horse which was ciose at 
hand, and escape to Detroit. 

" It was on one of these trading expeditions that I first heard of the destruction of 
father's family. This I learned through a Shawnee Indian with whom I had been ac- 
quainted when I lived with them, and who was one of the party on that occasion. I re- 
ceived this information some time in the same summer after it occurred. In the follow- 
ing winter I learned that my sister Polly had been purchased by a Mr. Stogwell, an 
American by birth, but unfriendly to the American cause. He was a man of bad char- 
acter — an unfeeling wretch — and treated my sister with great unkindness. At that time 
he resided a considerable distance from me. When I heard of my sister, I immediately 
prepared to go and see her ; but as it was then in the dead of winter, and the journey 
would have been attended with great difficulties, on being told by Mr. S. that he intended 
to remove to the neighborhood where I resided in the following spring, I declined it. 
When I heard that Mr. Stogwell had removed, as was contemplated, I immediately went 
to see her. I found her in the most abject condition, almost naked, being clothed with 
only a few dirty and tattered rags, exhibiting to my mind an object of pity indeed. It 
is impossible to describe my feelings on that occasion ; sorrow and joy were both com. 
bined ; and I have no doubt the feelings of my sister were similar to my own. On be- 
ing advised, I applied to the commanding officer at Detroit, informing him of her treat, 
ment, with the hope of effecting her release. I went with Mr. Simon Girty to Col. 
McKee, the superintendent for the Indians, who had Mr. Stogwell brought to trial to 
answer to the complaint against him. But I failed to procure her release. It was de- 

* James Moore says that he learned from Martha Ivins that the murder of these prisoners was com- 
mitted by a party of Cherokee Indians, who were returning from a war excursion, in which they had 
lost some of their party. That In consequence of this they became exasperated, fell upon the prisonersy 
and put them to death. 



494 TAZEWELL COUNTY. 

cided, however, that when an opportunity should occur for our returning to our friends, 
she should be released without remuneration. This was punctually performed on appli- 
cation of Mr. Thomas Ivins, who had come in search of his sister Martha, already al- 
luded to, who had been purchased from the Indians by some family in the neighborhood, 
and was at that time living with a Mr. Donaldson, a worthy and wealthy English far- 
mer, and working for herself. 

" All being now at liberty, we made preparations for our journey to our distant friends, 
and set out, I think, some time in the month of October, 1789, it being little more than 
five years from the time of my captivity, and a little more than three years from the time 
of the captivity of my sister and Martha Ivins.* A trading boat coming down the 
lakes, we obtained a passage for myself and sister to the Moravian towns, a distance of 
about 200 miles, and on our route to Pittsburg. There, according to appointment, we met 
with Mr. Ivins and his sister, the day after our arrival. He had in the mean time pro- 
cured three horses, and we immediately set out for Pittsburg. Fortunately for us, a 
party of friendly Indians, from these towns, were about starting on a hunting excursion, 
and accompanied u? for a considerable distance on our route, which was through a wil- 
derness, and the hunting-ground of an unfriendly tribe. On one of the nights during 
our journey, we encamped near a large party of these hostile Indians. The next morn- 
ing four or five of their warriors, painted red, came into our camp. This much alarmed 
us. They made many inquiries, but did not molest us, which might not have been the 
case if we had not been in company with other Indians. After this nothing occurred 
worthy of notice until we reached Pittsburg. Probably we would have reached Rock- 
bridge that fall if Mr. Ivins had not unfortunately got his shoulder dislocated. In con- 
sequence of this, we remained until spring with an uncle of his in the vicinity of Pitts- 
burg. Having expended nearly all his money in travelling, and with the physician, he 
left his sister, and proceeded on with sister Polly and myself to the house of our uncle, 
Wm. McPhoetus, about 10 miles southwest of Staunton, near the Middle River.t He 
received from uncle Joseph Moore, the administrator of father's estate, compensation for 
his services, and afterwards returned and brought in his sister." 

Here the narrative of Mr. Moore closes. He remained several years with his friends 
in Rockbridge county, but subsequently returned to the plantation of his father, where 
he still resides, having raised a large family: himself a highly respectable member of the 
Methodist church ; in connection with which, also, are many of his children, and his 
brother Joseph, who is a resident of the same county. Martha Ivins married a man by 
the name of Hummer, emigrated to Indiana, and reared a family of children. Two of 
her sons are ministers in the Presbyterian church — one in the presbytery of Crawfords- 
ville, and the other in the presbytery of Iowa. 

An incident in the captivity of Polly Moore has been omitted, too interesting to be 
passed over without notice. 

At the time she became a prisoner, notwithstanding her father, two brothers, and a 
sister had just been murdered, herself and the rest captured, and the house set on fire, 
she took up two New Testaments, one of which she kept the whole time of her captivity, 
and that too when she was but eight years of age.t She did not long continue with Mr. 
McPhoetus, but lived with her uncle Joseph Walker, on Buffalo creek, about six miles 
Bouth of Lexington, in Rockbridge county. § At the age of twelve she was baptized, a-nd 
admitted into full communion with the Presbyterian church. When she grew up, she 
married the Rev. Samuel Brown, a distinguished Presb3'terian clergyman of the same 
county, and pastor of New Providence congregation. She became the mother of eleven 
children. Of these, one died in infancy, another while quite young, and of the others, 
one is ruling elder in the church, another married a pious physician, another a clergy- 
man, five are Presbyterian ministers in Virginia, and the remaining one is a communi- 
cant in the church. Her last legacy w-as a Bible to each of her children. 

At the north end of the grave-yard near New Providence church, 14 miles north of 
Lexington, is the grave of Mary Moore. 



The following tragical song, commemorative of the death and 

* James Moore had, in the mean time, become so much attached to the family of Mr. Ariome, and es- 
pecially to one of his daughters, that he would have been contented to remain had it not been for his 
sister. 

t This property is now in the possession of Mr. George Shue. The Rev. Dr. Wm. McPhoetus infcTrmed 
the writtT that he remembered the time. 

i The other was stolen from her while with the Indians. 

§ This plantation was afterwards ow-nvd by Mr. John Donahoe, who kept a tavern. It is now owned 
by a Mr. Maifit. 



TYLER COUNTY. 



495 



captivity of the Moore family, was written many years since, and 
is still much sung among the mountaineers of this region. We 
insert it as a curiosity : 

moore's lamentation. 

Assist me with words, Melpomene, assist me with skill to impart 

The dolorous sorrow and pain that dwelt upon every heart, 

When Moore and his infantile throng the savages cruel did slay. 

His wife they led captive along; with murmuring voice she did say, 

Farewell ! ye soft bowers so green, I'll traverse these vallevs no more, 

Beside yon murmuring stream lies bleeding the man I adore , 

And with him my sweet innocent babes, these barbarous Indians have slain, 

Were I hut in one of their graves, then I would be free from my pain. 

Once more on them she cast her eyes and bade them forever farewell, 

Deep sobs from her bosom did rise, while she thus in anguish did wail. 

The heathen her sorrows to crown, led her without further delay, 

A victim to their Shawnee towns, and now comes her tragical day. 

A council upon her was held, and she was condemned for to die ; 

On a rock they a fire did build, while she did their torments espy ; 

With splints of light wood they prepared to pierce in her body all round, 

Her flesh for to mangle and tear. With sorrow she fell to the ground. 

But her senses returning again, the mercy of God did implore. 

"Thou Saviour that for me wast slain and bathed in a bloody gore. 

Have mercy now on me in death, and Heaven will sing forth thy praise 

Soon as I have yielded my breath in a raging fiery blaze." 

Then to her destruction proceeds each cruel blood-thirsty hell-hound; 

With lightwood they cause her to bleed, streaming from every wound. 

The smoke from her body doth rise ; she begs for their pity in vain : 

These savages hear her cries, and with dancing laugh at her pain. 

Three days in this manner she lay, tormented and bleeding the while, 

But God his mercy displayed, and on her with pity did smile, 

Growing angry at their cruel rage her soul would no longer confine. 

Her torments he soon assuaged, and in praise she her breath did resign. 

Let each noble, valorous youth, pity her deplorable end, 

Awhile from your true loves part ; join me each brother and friend, 

For I have been where cannons roared and bullets did rapidly fly, 

And yet I would venture once more, the Shawnees to conquer or die. 

Beside the above, we here insert another song, derived, like the 
other, from a mountain cabin in this region. It was made on the 
battle of Point Pleasant, " sometimes called the Shawnee Battle." 
(See Mason county.) 



Let us miind the tenth day of October, 
Seventy-four, which caused woe, 

The Indian savages they did cover 
The pleasant banks of the Ohio. 

The battle beginning in the morning. 
Throughout the day it lashed sore. 

Till the evening shades were returning down 
Upon the banks of the Ohio. 

Judgment precedes to execution. 
Let fame throughout all dangers go, 

Our heroes fought with resolution 
Upon the banks of the Ohio. 

Seven score lay dead and wounded 
Of champions that did face their fse, 



By which the heathen were confounded, 
Upon the banks of the Ohio. 

Col. Lewis and some noble captains, 
Did down to death like Uriah go, 

Alas ! their heads wound up in napkins, 
Upon the banks of the Ohio. 

Kings lamented their mighty fallen 
Upon the mountains of Gilboa, 

And now we mourn for brave Hugh Allen, 
Far from the banks of the Ohio. 

O bless the mighty King of Heaven 
For all his wondrous works below. 

Who hath to us the victory given, 
Upon the banks of the Ohio. 



TYLER. 



Tyler was formed in 1814, from Ohio, and named from John 
Tyler, gov. of Va. from 1808 to 1811, and father of the late Presi- 
dent of the U. S. It is 40 miles long, with a mean breadth of 18 
miles. This county declines to the west towards the Ohio, and is 
drained by Middle Island and Fishing creeks, both running through 
the county and emptying into the Ohio. The surface is exceed- 



496 WARREN COUNTY. 

ingly hilly and broken, but the soil is of a fair quality, and on the 
creek and river bottoms, excellent. About 50,000 pounds of maple 
sugar are annually produced. Pop. in 1840, whites 6,854, slaves 
85, free colored 5 ; total, 6,954. 

Middlebourn, the county-seat, is 307 miles northwesterly from 
Richmond, 52 miles s. of Wheeling, near the centre of the county, 
on Middle Island creek. It contains 3 mercantile stores, a Methodist 
church, and about 50 dwellings. Sistersville, 48 miles below 
Wheeling, is one of the best landings on the Ohio. This town 
was laid out in 1814 as the county-seat; but in 1816 it was re- 
moved to Middlebourn, 9 miles east of here. It is a flourishing 
village, containing 4 mercantile stores and about 80 dwellings. 
Martinsville, at the mouth of Fishing creek, 40 miles below Wheel- 
ing, contains 1 store and about 40 dwellings. Centreville, situated 
on the west bank of Middle Island creek, 7 miles e. of the C. H., 
contains from 30 to 40 dwellings. 

This county, being upon the Ohio River, has, in common with 
those counties situated upon this great artery, a facility in trans- 
porting its produce to market not possessed by the country fur- 
ther inland. The introduction of steamboats has greatly increased 
these facilities. In the infancy of the country every species of 
water-craft was employed in navigating this beautiful river ; and 
that unique and hardy race that once spent their lives upon its 
waters have vanished. The graphic and lively picture given 
below from Flint's Recollections of the lives of the boatmen, is now 
a part of the history of our country : 

The way of life which the boatmen lead, is in turn extremely indolent and extremely 
laborious ; for days together requiring little or no effort, and attended with no danger, 
and then, on a sudden, laborious and hazardous beyond Atlantic navigation. The boats 
float by the dwellings of the inhabitants on beautiful spring mornings, when the verdant 
forests, the mild and delicious temperature of the air, the delightful azure of the sky, the 
fine bottom on one hand and the romantic bluff on the other, the broad and smooth stream 
rolling calmly down the forest and floating the boat gently onward — all combine to in- 
spire the youthful imagination. The boatmen are dancing to the violin on the deck of 
their boat. They scatter their wit among the girls on the shore, who come down to the 
water's edge to see the pageant pass. The boat glides on until it disappears behind a 
point of wood. At this moment, perhaps, the bugle, with which all the boats are pro- 
vided, strikes up its notes in the distance over the water. These scenes and these 
notes, echoing from the bluffs of the beautiful Ohio, have a charm for the imagina- 
tion, which, although I have heard a thousand times repeated, and at all hours, is, 
even to me, always new and always delightful. 



WARREN. 

Warren w^as formed in 1836, from Frederick and Shenandoah : 
it is 20 miles long and 12 wide. The Shenandoah River runs 
through it at the base of the Blue Ridge, and receives in its pas- 
sage the waters of its North Fork, which enters it from the west. 
There is considerable mountain land in the sw. part of the county, 
and the surface is generally hilly, yet there is much excellent soil. 



WASHINGTON COUNTY. 497 

Pop. in 1840, whites 3,851, slaves 1,434, free colored 342 ; totals 
5,627. 

Front Royal, the county-seat, is 139 miles nw. of Richmond and 
20 SE. of Winchester, between the Shenandoah and the Blue Ridge, 
about a mile from the formen It was established in 1788, on 50 
acres of land, the property of Solomon Vanmeter, James Moore* 
Robert Haines, William Cunningham, Peter Halley, John Smith, 
Allen Wiley, Original Wroe, George Chick, William Morris, and 
Henry Trout ; was laid into lots and streets, and Thomas Allen, 
Robert Russell, William Headly, William Jennings, John Hick- 
man, Thomas Hand, and Thomas Buck, appointed trustees. The 
town is neatly built, and is surrounded by beautiful scenery. It 
contains 1 Presbyterian, 1 Baptist, and 1 Episcopal church, 5 mer<» 
cantile stores, and about 400 inhabitants. About 7 miles south of 
this village is a copper-mine, which has recently been opened. It 
is conducted with spirit, and promises to be valuable. 

About three miles southwest of Front Royal is Aliens Cave. In 
beauty and magnificence it is said to equal Weyer's Cave. It ex- 
tends about 1200 feet. The sparry incrustations and concretions 
of "Sarah's Saloon," one of its principal apartments, presents a 
gorgeous scene. Its innumerable cells and grottoes form a com- 
plete labyrinth. 



WARWICK. 

Warwick was one of the eight original shires into which Vir- 
ginia was divided in 1634 : its extreme length is 20, and greatest 
breadth 5 miles. It occupies a portion of the narrow peninsula 
between York and James Rivers, the latter of which forms its 
southwestern boundary. Pop. in 1840, whites 604, slaves 831, free 
colored 21 ; total, 1,456. 

The C. H. lies about 3 miles n. of the James, and 77 miles south* 
easterly from Richmond. 



WASHINGTON. 

Washington was formed in 1776, from Fincastle county i it is 40 
miles long, and 18 broad. This county occupies part of the valley 
between the Blue Ridge and Clinch mountains, and is watered by 
the North, Middle, and South Forks of Holston, which rise in 
Wythe and flow through this county, dividing it into three fertile 
valleys. Gypsum of a superior quality abounds, and over 60,000 
pounds of maple sugar are annually produced. Pop. in 1840, 
whites 11,731, slaves 2,058, free colored 212; total, 13,001. 

On the bank of the Middle Fork of Holston, about 15 miles se. 

63 



498 WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

of Abingdon, is an ebbing and flowing spring. At irregular inter- 
vals of from 3 to 4 hours, this spring, with a rushing noise, sends 
forth a volume of water in two or three successive waves, when it 
suddenly subsides until again agitated hj this irregular tide. 

Westerly from Abingdon, between Three Springs and the North 
Fork of Holston, on Abram's creek, in a narrow, gloomy ravine, 
bounded by a high perpendicular ledge, is a waterfall, which in one 
single leap descends perpendicularly 60 feet, and then falls about 
40 feet more ere it reaches the bottom ; the stream is about 20 feet 
wide. 




Emory and Henry College. 

Emory and Henry College is 10 miles from Abingdon, in a beau- 
tiful and secluded situation. It was founded in 1838, under the 
patronage of the Holston Annual Conference of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. It is yet in its infancy, but is efficiently organ- 
ized, and is already exerting a salutary influence upon the cause 
of education in sw. Virginia. The faculty consists of a president, 
Rev. Charles Collins, A. M., who is the professor of moral and 
mental science, two other professors, and a tutor ; number of pu- 
pils about 125, including those in the preparatory department. 
The name, Emory and Henry, was given in honor of Patrick 
Henry, and the Rev. Bishop Emory of the M. E. church. The 
post-oflice of the college is Glade Spring. 

Abingdon, the county-seat, is 304 miles sw. of Richmond, 8 n. of 
the Tennessee line, 56 from Wytheville, and 130 from Knoxville, 
Tenn. This, by far the most considerable and flourishing town in 
sw. Virginia, was established by law in Oct. 1778, on 120 acres of 
land given for the purpose by Thomas Walker, Joseph Black, and 
Samuel Briggs, Esqs., and the following gentlemen were appointed 
trustees : Evan Shelby, William Campbell, Daniel Smith, William 



WASHINGTON COUNTY. 



499 



Edmondson, Robert Craig, and Andrew Willoughby. The town 
stands on an elevation ; it is substantially built, with many brick 
buildings ; the principal street is macadamized, and the town is 
suri'ounded by a fertile, flourishing, and thickly-settled agricultural 




Abirigdon. 

country. It contains several large mercantile stores, 2 newspaper 
printing offices, 1 Presbyterian, 2 Methodist, and 1 Swedenborgiari 
church, a variety of mechanical and manufacturing establishments, 
and a population of over 1000. 

In regard to the early settlement of the tract of Virginia west of New River, it is 
said, that in 1754, six families only were residing on it — two on Back creek, in (now) 
Pulaski county ; two on Cripple creek, in Wythe county ; one at the Town house, now 
in Smyth county ; and Burke's family, in Burke's Garden, Tazewell county. On the 
breaking out of the French war, the Indians in alliance with the French made an ir- 
ruption into this valley, and massacred Burke and his family. The other families, find- 
ing their situation too perilous to be maintained, returned to the eastern side of New River. 
Tiie renewal of the attempt to settle this part of the country was not made until after the 
close of that war. A small fort, called Black's Fort, was erected when the country 
around Abingdon was settled, at a point about 100 yards south of that village, on tlie 
western bank of a small creek. It was one of those rude structures which the pioneers 
were accustomed to make for defence against the Indians, consisting of a few log cabins 
surrounded by a stockade, to which they always fled whenever Indian signs appeared. 

Southwestern Virginia, at that day, had ceased to be the permanent residence of the 
afborigines, but was the thoroughfare through which those tribes inhabiting the Rock- 
castle hills, in the wilderness of Kentucky, passed to the old settlements of Virginia. 
About two and a half miles northwest of the village, an old gentleman, by the name of 
Cummings — familiarly known as Parson Cummings — resided. It frequently happened, 
during times of excitement, when the whole population had repaired to the fort, that 
provisions grew scarce, and it became necessary for some of the most fearless and ath- 
letic to go out to the clearings and bring in supplies. On one occasion, several started 
with a wagon to the clearing of Parson Cummings, and among the rest, the parson ac- 
companied them. About half a mile from the fort, upon what is called Piper's hill, 
the company was surprised by a party of Indians, and one of their number killed. The 
others, unprepared for such a reception, took to the bushes. The parson being some- 
what portly, and wearing one of those large powdered wigs deemed an essential accom- 
paniment of the gown in those days, rendered him conspicuous, and, of coarse, an object 



500 WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

of more particular pursuit. Accordingly, in his precipitate retreat, he was closely fol. 
lowed by an active savage, with upraised tomahawk. The parson, in dodging under 
the undergrowth, left the aforesaid wig suspended upon a bramble, seeing which, the In- 
dian, taking it for the parson's head, made a bound or two and grasped it, but, on find- 
ing the head was not there, with a violent gesture, and all the lineaments of disappoint- 
ment drawn upon his face, he threw it upon the ground, exclaiming, " d d lie .'" 

and doggedly gave up the chase. The parson, in the mean time, was concealed in the 
bushes, within a few feet of the spot. The man who was killed was buried at a place 
since comprising the village burial-place, and the spot where his ashes repose, is marked 
with a rude, unhewn stone, with the inscription, " William* Creswell, July 4, 1776." 

As an evidence of the superstition even now occasionally existing among the lower 
class of the country, there resided, in 1838, in the hills, a few miles from Abingdon, a 
man by the name of Marsh, who was deemed by his neighbors not only honest and in- 
dustrious, but possessed of as much intelligence as most people in the lower walks of 
life. This man was severely afflicted with scrofula, and imagined his disease to be the 
effects of a spell, or pow-wow, practised upon him by a conjurer, or wizard, in the 
neighborhood, by the name of Yates. This impression taking firm hold of Marsh's 
mind, he was thoroughly convinced that Yates could, if he chose, remove the malady. 
The latter, being termed an Indian doctor, was sent for, and administered his nostrums. 
The patient, growing worse, determined to try another remedy, which was to take the 
life of Yates. To accomplish this, he sketched a rude likeness of Yates upon a tree, 
and shot at it repeatedly with bullets containing a portion of silver. Yates, contrary to 
his expectations, still survived. Marsh then determined to draw a head upon the ori- 
ginal, and, accordingly, charged an old musket with two balls, an admixture of silver 
and lead, watched an opportunity, and shot his victim as he was quietly passing along 
the road, both balls entering the back of the neck. Yates, however, survived, and 
Marsh was sent to the penitentiary. 



The annexed historical sketch of Washington county is abridged 
from the ms. memoirs of Southwestern Virginia by Col. John 
Campbell, Esq. Treasurer of the United States in the adminis- 
tration of President Jackson : 

About one hundred years ago — viz., in 1738 — the counties of Frederick and Augusta 
were formed out of Orange. These two western counties then embraced within their 
jurisdiction the whole colony of Virginia west of the Blue Ridge. With the exception 
of the few first settlers of Augusta and Frederick, it was all a howling and savage wil- 
derness. ... As late as the year 1756, eighteen years after Frederick and Augusta 
were formed into counties, the Blue Ridge was regarded, as Judge Marshall says, as the 
northwestern frontier of Virginia, and she found an immense difficulty in completing a 
single regiment to protect the inhabitants from the horrors of the scalping-knife, and the 
still greater horrors of being led into captivity by those who added terrors to death by the 
manner of inflicting it. Carlisle in Pennsylvania, Frederick in Maryland, and Win- 
chester in Virginia, were then frontier posts. 

This division of the territory west of the Blue Ridge into counties, continued for 31 
years, up to the year 1769, when the county of Botetourt was formed out of Augusta. 
Botetourt then embraced all southwestern Virginia, south and west of Augusta. Three 
years afterwards — viz., in 1772 — the county of Fincastle was formed out of Botetourt. 
The county of Fincastle then embraced all sw. Va. south and west of the Botetourt 
line, which was near New River. In 1776, four years afterwards, the county of Fin., 
castle was divided into three counties, and called Kentucky, Washington, and Mont- 
gomery counties, and the name of Fincastle became extinct. 

Washington county, during the whole of the revolution and up to 1786, embraced 
within its limits all southwestern Va., sw. of the Montgomery line. It included parts of 
Grayson, Wythe, and Tazewell, all of Smyth, Scott, Russell, and Lee, with its present 
limits. 

The act establishing the county of Washington passed in October, 1776, but it was 
not to go into operation until January, 1777. It received its military and civil organi- 
zation on the 28th of January, 1777. It is the oldest county of Washington in the U. 
S., being the first that was called after the father of his country. The act establishing 



WASHINGTON COUNT V. 501 

the county passed in the first year of the commonwealth, and the county was organized 
the first month of the new year. 

The following are the first records made, in which the county received its civil and 
military organization : 

" January 28th, in the first year of the commonwealth of Virginia, and in the year of our Lord Christ 
1777, being the day appointed by act of the General Assembly of the commonwealth of Virginia, for 
holding the first court of the county of Washington at ' Black's Fort.' A commission of the Peace and 
Dedimus for this county, directed to Arthur Campbell, William Campbell, Evan Shelby, Daniel Smith, 
William Edminston, John Campbell, Joseph Martin, Alexander Buchanan, James Dysart, John Kincaid, 
John Anderson, James Montgomery, John Coaller, John Snody, George Blackburn, and Moses Masten, 
gentlemen, bearing date the 21st day of December, 1776, were produced and read. Thereupon, pursuant 
to the Dedimus, William Campbell and Joseph Martin, two of the aforesaid justices, administered the 
oath of a justice of the peace, and of a justice of the county court of chancery, to Arthur Campbell, the 
first justice named in said commission, and he afterwards administered the aforesaid oaths to William 
Campbell, William Edminston, and others named as aforesaid in the said commission." . . The records 
also state that James Dysart produced a commission as county sheriff from Gov. Patrick Henry, and secu- 
rities being given, he took the oath. 

The sheriff having opened the court in the name of the commonwealth of Virginia, David Campbell, 
afterwards Judge Campbell of Tennessee, was inducted into the office of county clerk. 

The same records exhibit the following as the military organization of the county in 
this the first year of the commonwealth, and morning of the American revolution : — 
Arthur Campbell, county lieutenant or colonel-commandant ; Evan Shelby, colonel ; 
William Campbell, lieutenant-colonel ; William Edminston and Daniel Smith, majors ; 
Captains, John Campbell, Joseph Martin, John Shelby, Sen., James Montgomery, Robert 
Buchanan, Aaron Lewis, John Duncan, Gilbert Christian, James Shelby, James Dysart, 
Thomas Masten, John Kinkead, John Anderson, WiUiam Bowen, George Adams, Robert 
Craig, Andrew Colvill, and James Robertson. Some time after this organization. Col. 
Evan Shelby resigned his commission, and William Campbell was appointed in his 
place. 

Among the records illustrating the times, is this : 

"John Findlay making it appear to the satisfaction of the court of Washington county, that he, upon 
the 20th day of July, 1776, received a wound in tlie thigh in the battle fought with the Cherokees, near 
the Great Island,* and it now appears to the said court that he, in consequence of the said wound, is 
unable to gain a living by his labor as formerly ; therefore his case is recommended to the consideration 
of the General Assembly of the commonwealth of Virginia." 

The Cherokee Indians were defeated in this action, and massacre prevented upon the 
frontier settlements. The savages were led on, it is said, by a bold chieftain called 
" Dragon Canoe." He led his men, in some places, within thirty or forty paces of the 
opposing party ; and although he fought with the courage and skill of a Tecumseh or 
Oceola, he was completely beaten in his own mode of warfare. Both parties fought be- 
hind trees, with rifles, and both were girded with tomahawks, as weapons of self-defence 
with the white, when in close personal conflict with his savage foe, and of massacre on 
the part of the Indian, when his wounded enemy had fallen into his power. There was 
no American ofiicer in this well-fought action, of a higher rank than captain. Three 
of that grade commanded volunteer companies from Washington county, Va., viz. : 
John Campbell, James Shelby, and James Thompson. William Cocke commanded a 
company from Tennessee, then the territory of North Carolina. There were other 
captains out of Va., whose names are unknown to the writer. 

The condition of the country is further disclosed by these annexed extracts ; 

Jan. 29th, 1777. " Ordered, that William Campbell, Wm. Edminston, John Anderson, and George 
Blackburn, be appointed commissioners to hire wagons to hriiig up the couKty salt, allotted by the governor 
and council, and to receive and distribute the same agreeably to said order of council." " Ordered, that 
Capt. Robert Craig and Capt. John Shelby be ad<led to the commissioners appointed to receive and dis- 
tribute the flour contributed in Augusta, or elsewhere, for the distressed inhabitants of the county." 

Without flour, and without salt, these brave pioneers of a new countv, cheerful and 
gay, social and kind to each other, and linked together like a band of brothers, thought 
of nothing but the sublime objects of the American revolution — the great cause of Ameri- 
can liberty. Avarice had not won its way to their patriotic souls. They fought for 
freedom, and with their own weapons and war-steeds they volunteered and marched in 
every direction, at their own expense, in which the cries of suffering humanity reached 
them. TheSe gallant Highlanders volunteered on the expedition against the Shawnees 
at Pt. Pleasant, against the Cherokees at Long Island, and against the British at King's 
Mountain and Guilford ; against the Cherokees, under Col. Christian, and afterwards 
under Col. Arthur Campbell in 178L Col. Campbell, on this expedition, commanded 
700 mounted riflemen. History gives him the credit of having first made the experiment 

* This Island lies in Holston River, East Tennessee, near Kingsport, a few> miles south of the Virginia 
line. 



50-2 WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

of attacking' Indians with mounted riflemen, a mode of fighting on this occasion proving 
completely successful.* He destroyed in this expedition 14 Indian towns, and burnt 
50,0U0 bushels of corn. The cruel necessity also devolved upon him of destroying seve- 
ral scattered settlements, and a large quantity of provisions, after supplying his own 
army for their return. 

Mr. Jefferson, then governor of Virginia, in a letter dated the 17th of Feb., 1781, to 
the Continental Congress, enclosing the account of this expedition, remarks : 

" Our proposition to the Cherokee chiefs to visit Congress, for the purpose of prevent- 
ing or delaying a rupture with that nation, was too late. The storm had gathered to a 
head when Major Martin (the agent) had got back. It was determined, therefore, to 
carry the war into their country, rather than wait it in ours ; and I have it in my power 
to inform you that, thus disagreeably circumstanced, the issue has been successful. I 
enclose the particulars as reported to me." Col. Arthur Campbell's report to Mr. Jeffer- 
son is dated Washington county, Jan. 15, 1781. " The militia (he says) of this and the 
two western North Carolina counties (now Tennessee) have been fortunate enough to 
frustrate the designs of the Cberokees. On my reaching the frontiers, I found the In- 
dians meant to annoy us by small parties. To resist them effectually, the apparently 
best measure was to transfer the war without delay into their own borders. 

" To raise a force sufficient, and provide them with provisions and other necessaries, 
was a work of time, that would be accompanied with uncommon difficulties, especially 
in the winter season. Our situation was critical, and nothing but an extraordinary 
effort could save us, and disappoint the views of the enemy. All the calamities of 1776 
came fresh in remembrance, and to avoid a hke scene, men flew to their arms and 
marched to the field." 

The following message was sent to the Indian chiefs and warriors after this expedition 
was completed : 

" Chiefs and Warriors — We came into your country to fight your young men. We 
have killed many of them, and destroyed your towns. You know you began the war, 
by listening to the bad counsels of the King of England, and the falsehoods told you by 
his agents. We are now satisfied with what is done, as it may convince your nation 
that we can distress you mucli at any time when you are so foolish as to engage in war 
against us. If you desire peace, as we understand you do, we, out of pity to your women 
and children, are disposed to treat with you on that subject. 

" We therefore send this by one of your young men, who is our prisoner, to tell you if 
you are disposed to make peace, six of your head men must come to our agent. Major 
Martin, at the Great Island, within two moons, so as to give him time to meet them 
with a flag guard on Holston river, at the boundary line. To the wives and children of 
those men of your nation who protested against the war, if they are willing to take 
refuge at the Great Island until peace is restored, we will give a supply of provisions to 
keep them alive. 

" Warriors, listen attentively : 

" If we receive no answer to this message until the time already mentioned expires, we 
shall then conclude that you intend to continue to be our enemies. We will then be 
compelled to send another strong force into your country, that will come prepared to 
remain in it, to take possession of it as a conquered country, without making you any 
compensation for it. Signed at Kai-a-tee, the 4th of Jan., 1781, by 

" Arthur Campbell, Col., 
" JoHx Sevier, Col., 
" Joseph Martin, Agent and Major of Militia." 

A few days after the return of the army across the Dan, Gen. Greene received a com- 
munication from Col. Arthur Campbell, announcing the fortunate result of the expedi- 
tion, and stating that the Indians were desirous of submitting, and negotiating a treaty 
with the proper authorities. It being at that early day doubtful in whom such a power 
rested. Gen. Greene deemed the necessity of the case sanctioned him in nominating 
commissioners for that purpose. On the 20th of February, 1781, he issued a commission 
to Wm. Christian, Wm. Preston, Arthur Campbell, and Joseph Martin, of Virginia,'and 
to Robert Sevier, Evan Shelby, Joseph Williams, and John Sevier, of North Carolina, 
to enter into a treaty for restoring peace, and establish the limits between the two states 
and the Indian tribes ; but with the wary precaution of limiting their powers by the 
laws of those states, and the duration of the commission by the will of Congress or the 

* On this point see Morse's Ilisi. Sketch of Tenn., prepared for the Am. Atlas, pub. in 1827, by Carey 
fc Lee. 



WASHINGTON COUNTy. 503 

commander-in-chief. Under this commission was concluded that treaty which took 
place the ensuing year. 

During the summer of 1780, the militia of southwestern Virginia were kept con- 
stantly on the alert, in consequence of the movements of the British army in South Car- 
olina. In August and September, 150 men from Washington county were in service 
on New River, about the lead mines, and over the mountains in North Carolina, under 
Col. Campbell, to prevent and suppress insurrections among the lories in those quarters. 
In the fall of this year the regiment of Col. William Campbell was in the battle of King's 
Mountain, and behaved with great bravery. The signal defeat which the enemy expe- 
rienced on that occasion crushed the hopes of the tories, and did much towards giving a 
favorable turn to the tide of war in the southern states.* 

The annexed biographical sketches of Col. Arthur Campbell, and 
of Gen. William Campbell, are from the ms. history of Washing- 
ton county. The notice of the latter was written by the former, 
who was both a cousin and a brother-in-law ; 

Arthur Campbell was born in 1742, in Augusta county. When about fifteen years 
old he volunteered as a militiaman, to perform a tour of duty in protecting the frontier 
settlements against the incursions of the Indians, and was stationed in a fort which had 
been erected about that period, near where the road leading from Staunton to the Warm 
Springs at this time crosses the stream called the Cow Pasture. While engaged in this 
service, a party of men from the fort, of which he was one, went some distance to a 
plum thicket, in quest of plums. The Indians, lying in ambush, fired upon them, and 
one of their balls grazed the knee of Arthur, then in one of the plum-trees. He sprang 
to the ground, and the shock, together with the injury from the wound, although slight, 
caused him to fall, and he was captured ere he could recover himself. The others 
made their escape without injury. 

This youth, a mere stripling, was loaded with Indian packs, and made to carry them 
for seven days. The Indians, who were of one of the tribes in the vicinity of Lakes 
Erie and Michigan, immediately set out for their country. He was soon exhausted, 
unable to travel, and was treated with great severity. The aged chief in command in- 
terfered, took him from the others, and protected him from further injury ; and when 
the party reached the Indian towns, this chief adopted him, and he remained in his 
family during his captivity. 

The young man now turned his attention to studying the Indian character, learning 
their language and customs ; and soon acquiring the confidence of his chief, became his 
companion in all his hunting excursions, in which they rambled over the whole country 
now forming Michigan, and the northern portions of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. In 
1759, some portion of the British army was marched towards the upper lakes and the 
country bordering on Lake Erie, with a view of bringing the Indian tribes to submis- 
sion. In what particular direction the force marched, the writer hereof has not now the 
means of ascertaining. It was moving towards the borders of Lake Erie when runners 
and traders made known to the Indians that such a force was marching towards their 
country. Campbell knew that although they were several hundred miles distant, the 
Indians would watch his every movement with the greatest suspicion ; he, however, 
formed the bold resolution of escaping to them. To accomplish it required skill and 
cool determination, and the result showed he possessed both in a high degree. A hunt- 
ing excursion was soon projected, in which he joined ; and after several days march irt 
an opposite direction somewhat from the army, the party left their camp one morning, 
each separating for the day's hunt. Campbell took what he judged to be the proper 
course, and in two weeks reached the British army. In "this journey of several hundred- 
miles, partly through an unknown country, great peril was encountered in avoiding 
Indian hunting parties ; but he escaped all, furnishing himself meat with his rifle. 0» 
reaching the outposts, he requested to be conducted to the commander. The officer was 
deeply interested in his narrative, and being struck with the intelligence of the young: 

* We learn from tradition, that after the battle, the American officers held a coiincil, and Imng some 
fifteen or twenty of their tory prisoners. Many more were condemned ; but, disgusted with this work of 
blood, their lives were spared. Among those who suffered was an Irishman, a noble-looking young man^ 
who had by his own exertions raised a company of royalists. As the rope was being adjusted arounif 
his neck, he was offered his life if he would join the Americans. He spurned the offer with indignation^, 
and as they were about swin^'ing liiui off, cried, " Lovg live King George!" — H. H. 



504 WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

man, engaged him to pilot the army. In this he rendered them important service, and 
soon after returned home. 

During his three years of captivity, his friends had not heard of his destiny, and time 
in some measure had healed the wounds inflicted by his supposed horrible fate. In 
their imaginations his name had long been numbered with the dead, and to sooth the 
feelings of his pious parents, it had been ceased to be mentioned in the midst of a numer- 
ous family of brothers and sisters. A letter is unexpectedly received from him, dated 
at Pittsburg, announcing his safety, and that in a few days he would have the pleasure 
of meeting them at the parental hearth. The parents and children are overwhelmed 
with joy at the prospect of once beholding and embracing their long-lost son and brother. 
The eldest son starts immediately to meet him, and they meet in the road alone. The 
captive boy has grown a tall youth, with the erect, manly step, and lofty air of the red 
man. He reaches home, the neighbors flock to see him. He has acquired the taciturnity 
of the Indian, and the thousand inquisitive interrogatories annoy him. Soon as he be- 
comes settled, instead of devoting his leisure to social amusements, he is acquiring a 
knowledge from books that places him above his cotemporaries, and to the astonishment 
of all, writes an elegant epistle to the governor of the state, detailing his captivity, 
escape, and services rendered to the army as a guide ; upon which the government then 
allows him a thousand acres, near Louisville, Kentucky. 

About four years before the commencement of the revolution, David Campbell (his 
father) and family, (Arthur and one sister having emigrated two years previous,) moved, 
and settled at a place called " the Royal Oak," on Holston River, then a wilderness and 
an Indian hunting-ground. Arthur was soon appointed a major in the Fincastle county 
militia, and in the spring of 1776 was elected to the Virginia assembly, and was a mem- 
ber of the convention forming the constitution. In this convention he took a decided 
stand against an established church, and although not a public speaker, influenced some 
of the first members of the convention. While a member of the Assembly, he became 
intimately acquainted with Edmund Pendleton, Richard Henry Lee, and George Mason, 
and afterwards with Jefferson and Madison, with all of whom he corresponded. Previous 
to this, he married the third sister of Gen. William Campbell, a lady of beauty, spright- 
liness, and intelligence. When Washington county was formed, he was appointed 
county lieutenant, or colonel-commandant. At this period there was a general military 
spirit, and no ofhcers resigned their commissions. Col. Campbell retained command of 
this regiment (the 70th) for nearly thirty years ; and there were in his corps several 
captains with heads perfectly white with age. Before Col. Campbell reached the com- 
mand of a regiment, he was engaged in and commanded several military expeditions, as 
well as after. The public documents at Richmond giving authentic accounts of public 
affairs, were destroyed (it is supposed) by Arnold, and therefore previous to the date of 
his colonelship, little can be learned about his public services. The crowning act of his 
life, his brilliant services against the Cherokees, are elsewhere detailed. 

Col. Campbell resided on the farm he first settled after coming to Holston, about 
thirty-five years. He then removed to Yellow Creek, Knox county, Kentucky, where 
he died of a cancer in the face, in the 74th year of his age. Col. Campbell was tall, of 
a dignified air, a man of extensive reading, and fine conversational talents. With the 
mass of society he was unpopular, although respected, owing mainly to his not relaxing 
in his manner to suit it. His temper being hasty and overbearing, occasioned violent 
quarrels and bitter enemies. He was a zealous whig, and in the gloomiest hour had 
not a doubt of an auspicious result to the contest. 

Col. Arthur Campbell had two sons, who died in the army during the late war. Capt. 
James Campbell died at Mobile, and Col. John B. Campbell fell at Chippewa, where 
he commanded the right wing of the army under Gen. Winfield Scott. He was a gal- 
lant and a humane officer, and in the winter of 1813, commanded an expedition against 
the Indians on the Wabash, and had a bloody battle with them at MississineWa, and 
finally destroyed their towns. 

Gen. William Campbell, the subject of this memoir, was a native of Augusta, in the 
state of Virginia, of the true Caledonian race by the maternal line, as Well as that by the 
father. Being an only son, he received a liberal education under the best teachers of 
those times. He had an ardent mind, very susceptible of literary improvement, and 
acquired early in life a correct knowledge of the English language, of ancient and mod- 
ern history, and of several branches of the mathematics. Nature had formed him for a 
commander in military capacity. His personal appearance was grave and masculine, 
being something about six feet high, and well proportioned ; in conversation rather 



WASHINGTON COUNTY. 505 

reserved and thoughtful ; in his written communications expressive and elegant. His 
patriotism was not of a timid cast. He never balanced between his military duty and 
prudential maxims. When his ire was excited, he showed in his countenance the fury 
of an Achilles. The trusty Andreferrara, the sword he wore on the day of battle, was 
once the property of his grandfather from Scotland, and he had an arm and a spirit 
that could wield it with effect. In the year 1775, he was of the first regular troops 
raised in Virginia, being honored with a captain's commission in the first regiment.- 
Here he acquired a practical knowledge of tactics and the discipline of an army. In 
the latter part of the year 1776, he resigned his commission on account of the Indian 
war breaking out, by which his family and friends were exposed to immediate danger. 
Soon after he was promoted to be lieut.-colonel of the militia of Washington county, and 
the next year, on the resignation of Evan Shelby, sen., to that of colonel of the regiment. 
In this rank he remained until after the battle of King's Mountain, and of Guilford, 
when he was appointed by a vote of the legislature of Virginia, to rank as a brigadier- 
general, and was ordered to join the Marquis Lafayette, to oppose the invasion of the 
enemy in 1781. After the defeat of Ferguson, the British general, Cornwallis, imbibed 
a personal resentment, and had the temerity to threaten if Gen. Campbell fell into his 
hands, he would have instantly been put to death for his rigor against the tories. This, 
instead of intimidating, had the contrary effect, and in turn the American general re- 
solved, if the fortune of war should place Cornwallis in his power, he should meet the 
fate of Ferguson. This soon after, at the battle of Guilford, had nearly been the case, 
for had all the militia behaved with the same firmness and courage as on the winsf 
where Gen. Campbell commanded, the British army must have met with a total defeat. 
On forming the army in Virginia, under the Marquis Lafayette, in 1781, Gen. Camp- 
bell became a favorite of that gallant nobleman, who gave him the command of the 
brigade of light infantry and riflemen. A few weeks before the siege of Yorktown, he 
took sick of a complaint in his breast, which obliged him to retire from the army to a 
friend's house in the country, and there, after a short sickness, to end his days in the 
thirty-sixth year of his age, much lamented by the friends of liberty who knew him. 
Of his mihtary character we have given a short sketch. His moral sentiments and 
social demeanor in civil life were exemplary. Although an only son, and an heir to 
a considerable property, he never gave way to the fashionable follies of young men 
of fortune. He Well knew that vice, at any time of life, or in any shape, darkens the 
understanding, perverts the will, and thus injures social order in every grade of society. 
He kept a strict guard on his own passions, and was by some deemed too severe in 
punishing the deviations of others. His military career was short but brilliant. War- 
ren and Montgomery acted on a conspicuous stage, and deserved the eulogiums so 
often repeated. Campbell undertook a no less arduous task, with an inferior number 
of undisciplined militia. He marched in a few days near two hundred miles, over vast 
mountains, in search of the enemy, who were commanded by an experienced officer, of 
known bravery and military skill, and who had chosen his field for battle. It was 
[King's Mountain] rather a fortification than an open space for combatants to meet 
upon. The assault of the Americans was impetuous and irresistible, and the event was 
victory to a wish. This victory resulted in the retreat of the main British army a con* 
siderable distance, and their relinquishment of the scheme of invading Virginia that 
year. It also reanimated ail the friends of liberty in the southern states, and was the 
prelude of adverse events to the enemy, which, in the course of the next campaign, 
terminated in their final overthrow.* 



Judge Peter Johnson, who resided in this vicinity in the latter part of his life, was 
originally intended for the church, At the breaking out of the revolution he clandes- 
tinely left his father's house, and joined the legion of Lee. Proving a most vigilant and 
prudent soldier, he was promoted to a lieutenancy. At the siege of Augusta, a ditch 
of the besiegers was occupied by Lieut. Johnson and 24 men. Early in the night infor- 
mation was received that a party of 40 British soldiers and Indians were approaching. 
Johnson immediately ordered his men, who had their muskets loaded, to sit on their 



* The Virginia legislature presented this officer with a sword, horse, and pistols, for his condftet at 
King's Mountain, and named a coUnty after him. The Continental Congress passed in his faVor a highly- 
complimentary resolution. His conduct at Guilford drew from Gen. Greene, and from Col. Henry Lee, 
(to whose legion he was attached,) flattering letters. And when the scene closes, and death has befallen 
him, Lafayette issues a funeral order, regretting the decease of " an officer whose services must have 
endeared him to every citizen, and in particular to every American soldier;" as one Who has acquired 
" a glory in the atiitirs of King's Mountain and Gtiilford Court-Hotise, that will do his memory ever- 
lasting honor, and ensure him a high rank among the defenders of liberty in the American cause." 

., 64 



506 WAYNE COUNTY. 

hams on the reverse of the ditch. In a few minutes the enemy were heard stealthily 
advancing. When they were within a few yards, he gave the order, and his men sud- 
denly rising took deliberate aim and poured in upon them a deadly fire. They were 
completely routed, and instead of surprising Johnson were themselves surprised. His 
intrepidity and coolness on this occasion saved his detachment from being cut off. 

While his brother officers were spending their time in dissipation, Johnson was pur- 
suing his studies. After the war he acquired distinction at the bar, was elected speaker 
of the House of Representatives, and finally received the appointment of judge. He 
left a numerous family, some of whom are now residing in this county. 



WAYNE. 

Wayne is a new county, formed in 1842 from the southwestern 
part of Cabell. It is about 35 miles long, with a mean breadth of 
10 miles. The Ohio forms its nw. boundary, the Tug Fork of Big 
Sandy divides it from Kentucky, and Twelve Pole creek rises in 
Logan and runs through it centrally. The surface of the county 
is considerably broken, and it is sparsely inhabited. The court- 
house is at Trout's Hill. 

The following description of this section of country is extracted 
from the history of a voyage from Marietta to New Orleans in 
1805, and communicated to the American Pioneer, by Dr. S. P. 
Hildreth : 

At the mouth of the Big Sandy, the dividing line between Virginia and Kentucky, the 
Ohio makes its extreme southern bend, and approaches nearer to the climate of the cane, 
(arundinaria macrosperma,) than at any other point between Pittsburg and Cincinnati. 
At this period it grew in considerable quantities near the falls, 30 miles from the mouth, 
and had been visited in 1804 by Thomas Alcock, of Marietta, for the purpose of collect- 
ing its stems to manufacture weavers' reeds. It was the highest point, near the Ohio, 
where this valuable plant was known to grow, and has long since been destroyed by the 
domestic cattle of the inhabitants. In Tennessee and Kentucky it furnished the winter 
food for their cattle and horses many years after their settlement. The head waters of 
the Sandy and Guyandotte interlock with those of the Clinch and the Holston, amid the 
spurs of the Cumberland mountains. In their passage to the Ohio, they traverse the 
most wild and picturesque region to be found in western Virginia ; abounding in im- 
mense hills of sand rocks, cut into deep ravines by the water-courses, containing caverns 
of various sizes and extent. At this period it was the most famous hunting-ground for 
bears in all the country. In the years 1805-6 and 7, eight thousand skins were col- 
lected by the hunters from the district traversed by these rivers and a few adjacent 
streams. It was the paradise of bears ; affording their most favorite food in exhaust- 
less abundance. The bear is not strictly a carnivorous animal, but, like the hog, feeds 
chiefly on vegetable food. On the ridges were whole forests of chestnuts, and the hill- 
sides were covered with oaks, on whose fruits they luxuriated and fattened, un-til their 
glossy hides afforded the finest peltry imaginable. The war in Europe created a great 
demand for their skins, to decorate the soldiers of the hostile armies ; and good ones 
yielded to the hunters four and five dollars each. 

Since that day the attention of the sojourners of this wild region has been turned to 
the collection of the roots of the ginseng. This beautiful plant grows with great luxuri- 
ance, and in the most wonderful abundance, in the rich virgin soil of the hill and moun- 
tain sides. For more than thirty years the forests have afforded a constant supply of 
many thousand pounds annually, to the traders stationed at remote points along the wa- 
ter-courses. No part of America furnishes a more stately growth of forest trees, em- 
bracing all the species of the climate. The lofty Liriodendron attains the height of 
eighty and a hundred feet without a limb, having a shaft of from four to six feet in 
diameter. The white and yellow oak are its rivals in size. The magnolia acuminata 
towers aloft to an altitude uncommon in any other region ; while its more humble rela- 
tives, the tripetala and mycrophilla, flourish in great beauty by its side. It may be con- 
sidered the storehouse for building future cities, when the prolific pines of the Alleghany 
River are exhausted. In addition to all these vegetable riches, the hills are full of fine 
beds of bituminous coal, and argillaceous iron ores. 



WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 507 



WESTMORELAND. 

Westmoreland lies on the Potomac, in the ne. section of the 
state. It is about 30 miles long, with a width of from 8 to 10 
miles. The first mention which has been found of this county, is 
in an act of the " Grand Assembly" of July, 1653, by which " It is 
ordered that the bounds of the county of Westmoreland be as fol- 
loweth, (viz.,) from Machoactoke River, where Mr. Cole lives, and 
so upwards to the falls of the great river Pawtomake, above the 
Nescostin's towne." From this, it would seem the county was 
previously in existence, but it is not ascertained at what time it 
was taken from the older colony of Northumberland, (at first calJed 
Chicawane or Chickown,) which was established in 1648, and 
declared by an act of that year to contain the " neck of land 
between Rappahannock River and Potomack River." Its surface 
is indented with numerous tributaries of the Potomac, the waters 
of which generally abound with the finest fish, oysters, and wild- 
fowl. The face of the country is diversified by hills and flatland. 
The soil on the streams is fertile, and the middle or forest-lands 
are covered with a thick growth of pine and cedar, and exhibit all 
the symptoms of early exhaustion from the successive culture of 
tobacco. They are not, however, irreclaimable, and in many 
instances, by a proper system of agriculture, give abundant crops. 
Large quantities of cord-wood are exported to the Baltimore 
market. Pop. in 1840, whites- 3,466, slaves 3,590, free colored 963 ; 
total, 8,019. The Court-House is situated near the line of Rich- 
mond CO., 70 m. ne. of Richmond, and contains a few dwellings only. 

Westmoreland has been called " the Athens of Virginia." 
Some of the most renowned men in this country have been born 
within her borders. Among these may be mentioned WASHING- 
TON, Richard Henry Lee, and his three brothers, Thomas, Francis, 
and Arthur, Gen. Henry Lee, Monroe, and the late Judge Bushrod 
Washington. 

President Monroe was born at the head of Monroe's creek. 
Chantilly, situated upon the Potomac, now in ruins, was once the 
residence of Richard Henry Lee. Upon the same stream, a few 
miles further up, is Stratford, the family seat of the Lees for many 
generations. The birthplace of Washington was destroyed pre- 
vious to the revolution. It stood about half a mile from the junc- 
tion of Pope's creek with the Potomac. A stone has lately been 
placed there to mark its site, by G. W. Custis, Esq. It bears the 
simple inscription, "Here, on the 11th of February, (O. S.) 1732, 
George Washington was born." 

" The spot is of deep interest, not only from Its association but its natural beauties. 
It commands a view of the Maryland shore ; of the Potomac, one of the most majestic 
of rivers, and of its course for many miles towards Chesapeake Bay. The house was a 
low-pitched, single-storied, frame building, with four rooms on the first floor, and an 
enormous chimney at each end on the outside. This was the style of the better sort of 
houses in those days, and they are still occasionally seen in the old settlements of Vir- 
ginia." 



508 WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 

The faC'Simile in the engraving, of the record of the birth of 
Washington, is from the family record in the Bible which belonged 
to his mother. The original entry is supposed to have been made 
by her. This old family Bible is in the possession of George W. 
Bassett, Esq., of Farmington, Hanover co., who married a grand- 
niece of Washington. It is in the quarto form, much dilapidated 
by age, and with the title-page missing. It is covered by the 
striped Virginia cloth, anciently much used. 

The portrait of Washington which we give, is engraved from the 
original painting by his aid, Col. John Trumbull. When Lafayette 
was on his visit to this country, he pronounced it the best likeness 
of Washington he had seen. It was taken at the time of life when 
they were both together in the army of the revolution. 

It is unnecessary here to give a biographical sketch of Wash- 
ington, as it is to be presumed that the reader is already familiar 
with the events of his life. But we insert the tribute paid to his 
character by Lord Brougham, where he contrasts him with Napo- 
leon : 

How grateful the relief which the friend of mankind, the lover of virtue experiences 
when, turning from the contemplation of such a character, his eye rests upon the great- 
est man of our own or any other age. ... In Washington we truly behold a marvellous 
contrast to almost every one of the endowments and the vices which we have been 
contemplating ; and which are so well fitted to excite a mingled admiration, and sorrow, 
^nd abhorrence. With none of that brilUant genius which dazzles ordinary minds ; 
with not even any remarkable quickness of apprehension ; with knowledge less than 
almost all persons in the middle ranks, and many well educated of the humbler cIeiss 
possess ; this eminent person is presented to our observation clothed with attributes as 
modest, as unpretending, as little calculated to strike or astonish, as if he had passed 
through some secluded region of private life. But he had a judgment sure and sound ; 
a steadiness of mind which never sulFered any passion, or even any feeling to ruffle its 
calm ; a strength of understanding worked, rather than forced its way through all ob. 
stacles^^removing or avoiding, rather than overleaping them. His courage, whether in 
battle or in council, was as perfect as might be expected from this pure and steady tem- 
per of soul. A perfectly just man, with a thoroughly firm resolution never to be misled 
by others, any more than by others to be overawed ; never to be seduced, or betrayed, 
or hurried away by his own weakness, or self-delusions, any more than by other men's 
arts ; cor even to be disheartened by the most complicated difficulties, any more than 
be spoilt on the giddy heights of fortune — such was this great man — whether we regard 
him alone sustaining the whole weight of campaigns, all but desperate, or gloriously 
terminating a just warfare by his resources and his courage ; presiding over the jarring 
elements of his political council, alike deaf to the storms of all extremes — or directing 
the formation of a new government for a great people, the first time so vast an experi- 
ment had been tried by man ; or finally retiring from the supreme power to which his 
virtue had raised him over the nation he had created, and whose destinies he had guided 
as long as his aid was required^retired with the veneration of all parties, of all nations, 
of all mankind, in order that the rights of men might be preserved, and that his example 
might never be appealed to by vulgar tyrants. 

This is the consummate glory of the great American ; a triumphant warrior, where 
the most sanguine had a right to despair; a successful ruler in all the difficulties of a 
course wholly untried ; but » warrior whose sword only left its sheath when the first law 
of our nature commanded it to be drawn ; and a ruler who, having tasted of supreme 
power, gently and unostentatiously desired that the cup might pass from him, nor would 
suffer more to wet his lips than the most solemn and sacred duty to his country and 
his God required ! 

To his latest breath did this great patriot maintain the noble character of a captain, 
the patron of peace ; and a statesmen, the friend of justice. Dying, he bequeathed to 
his heirs the sword he had worn in the war for liberty, charging them " never to take 
it from the scabbard but in self-defence, or in defence of their country and ha: freedom ;" 



> ^ 




510 WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 

and commanding them that when it should thus be drawn, they should never sheath it, 
nor ever give it up, but prefer falling with it in their hands' to the relinquishment thereof 
— words, the majesty and simple eloquence of which are not surpassed in the oratory of 
Athens and Rome. It will be the duty of the hisiorian and the sage in all ages, to omit 
no occasion of commemorating this illustrious man ; and until time shall be no more, 
will be a test of the progress which our race has made in wisdom and in virtue, to be de- 
rived from the veneration paid to the immortal name of WASHINGTON ! 

We now insert notices drawn from various public sources, of 
some of the other distinguished men of Westmoreland : 

Richard Henry Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born at Strat- 
ford, Jan. 20th, 1732. He spent several years in an academy in England, from which 
he returned to his native country in his 19th year. His fortune being ample, he devoted 
his time principally to the elegant pursuits of literature. In 1755 he offered his services 
as a captain of provincials to Braddock ; but he refused to accept any more assistance 
from the provincials than he was obliged to. In his 25th year, Lee was appointed a 
justice of the peace, and was shortly after first chosen a delegate to the House of Bur- 
gesses, where he soon acquired distinction in debate, and his voice was always raised in 
support of republican principles. In all the questions of controversy that came up be- 
tween the mother country and her colonies, Mr. Lee took an active part. He was ap- 
pointed on the most important committees of the House of Burgesses, and drew up some 
of the most important papers, which " contained the genuine principles of the revolution, 
and abounded in the firm and eloquent sentiments of freemen." 

It is stated that the celebrated plan of corresponding committees between the different 
colonies, adopted in 1773 by the House of Burgesses, originated with Mr. Lee. The 
same idea had, about the same time, been conceived by Mr. Samuel Adams of Massa- 
chusetts, which circumstance has occasioned much dispute. Mr. Lee doubtless follow- 
ed the suggestions of his own mind, as he had, five years previously, requested Mr. 
Dickinson of Pennsylvania, in a letter, to bestow his consideration upon the advantage 
of plans which he communicated to him of the same purport.* 

Wirt, in describing him at this time, says : " Richard Henry Lee was the Cicero of the 
house. His face itself was on the Roman model ; his nose Caesarean ; the port and 
carriage of his head, leaning persuasively and gracefully forward ; and the whole con- 
tour noble and fine. Mr. Lee was by far the most elegant scholar in the house. He 
had studied the classics in the true spirit of criticism. His taste had that delicate 
touch which seized with intuitive certainty every beauty of an author, and his genius 
that native affinity which combined them without an effort. Into every walk of litera- 
ture and science he had carried this mind of exquisite selection, and brought it back to 
the business of life, crowned with every light of learning, and decked with every wreath 
that all the Muses and all the Graces could entwine. Nor did those light decorations 
constitute the whole value of its freight. He possessed a rich store of historical and 
political knowledge, with an activity of observation, and a certainty of judgment that 
tm'ned that knowledge to the very best account. He was not a lawyer by profession, but 
he understood thoroughly the constitution both of the mother country and of her colo- 
nies, and the elements also, of the civil and municipal law. Thus, while his eloquence 
was free from those stiff and technical restraints which the habits of forensic speaking 
are so apt to generate, he had all the legal learning which is necessary to a statesman. 
He reasoned well, and declaimed freely and splendidly. The note of his voice was 
deeper and more melodious than that of Mr. Pendleton. It was the canorous voice of 
Cicero. He had lost the use of one of his hands, which he kept constantly covered with 
a black silk bandage neatly fitted to the palm of his hand, but leaving his thumb free ; 
yet, notwithstanding this disadvantage, his gesture was so graceful and so highly finished, 
that it was said he had acquired it by practising before a mirror. Such was his prompt, 
itude that he required no preparation for debate. He was ready for any subject as soon 
as it was announced ; and his speech was so copious, so rich, so mellifluous, set off 
with such bewitching cadence of voice, and such captivating grace of action, that 
while you listened to him you desired to hear nothing superior, and indeed thought him 
perfect. He had a quick sensibility and a fervid imagination, which Mr. Pendleton 
wanted. Hence his oration.^ were warmer and more delightfully interesting ; yet still, 
to him those keys were not consigned, which could unlock the sources either of the 

* Wirt, in liis Life of Henry, says that in Virginia " the measure was brought forward by Mr. Dabney 
Carr, a new member from the county of Louisa.'" (See p. 258.) Both Mr. Carr and Mr. Lee were ap- 
pointed iip;Ki the standing committee of correspondence consequent upon the adoption of the measure. 



V/ESTMORELAND COUNTy. 511 

Btron^ or tender passions. His defect was, that he was too smooth and too sweet. His 
style bore a striking resemblance to that of Herodotus, as described by the Roman ora- 
tor : ' he flowed on, like a quiet and placid river, without a ripple.' He flowed, too, 
through banks covered with all the fresh verdure and variegated bloom of the spring ; 
but his course was too subdued, and too beautifully regular. A cataract, like that of 
Niagara, crowned with overhanging rocks and mountains, in all the rude and awful 
grandeur of nature, would have brought him nearer to the standard of Homer and of 
Henry." 

In 1774, he was a member of the first general Congress, where he at once took a 
prominent stand, and was on all the leading committees. From his pen proceeded the 
memorial of Congress to the people of British America. In the succeeding Congress, 
Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the army, and his commission and 
instructions were furnished by Mr. Lee, as chairman of the committee appointed for that 
purpose. The second address of Congress to the people of Great Britain — a composition 
unsurpassed by any of the state papers of the time — was written by him this session. 
But the most important of his services in this term was his motion, June 7, 1776, to 
declare independence. His speech on introducing this bold and glorious measure, was 
one of the most brilliant displays of eloquence ever heard on the floor. After a protract- 
ed debate, it was determined, June 10, to postpone the consideration of this resolution 
until the first Monday of the July following ; but a committee was appointed to prepare 
a declaration of independence. Of this committee he would have been chairman, ac- 
cording to parliamentary rules, had not the illness of some of his family called him 
home. Mr. Jefferson was substituted for him, and drew up the declaration. He shortly 
resumed his seat, in which he continued until June, 1777, when he solicited leave of 
absence on account of ill health, and to clear up some stains which malice or over- 
heated zeal had thrown upon his reputation in Virginia. He demanded an investigation 
from the Assembly, which resulted in a most triumphant and flattering acquittal, by a 
vote of thanks for his patriotic services. 

In consequence of Mr. Lee's great and persevering exertions to procure the independ- 
ence of his country, and to promote the cause of liberty, the enemy made great exer- 
tions to secure his person. Twice he narrowly escaped being taken. Once his preserva- 
tion was owing to the fidelity of his slaves, and on the other occasion his safety was 
owing to his own dexterity and presence of mind. 

In August, 1778, he was again elected to Congress, but declining health forced him 
to withdraw, in a great degree, from the arduous labors to which he had hitherto devoted 
himself. In 1780 he retired from his seat, and declined returning to it until 1784. In 
the interval he served in the Assembly of Virginia, and, at the head of the militia of his 
county, protected it from the incursions of the enemy. In 1784, he was unanimously- 
chosen president of Congress, but retired at the end of the year, and in 1786 was again 
a member of the Virginia Assembly. He was a member of the convention which 
adopted the federal constitution, and although personally hostile to it, he joined in the 
vote to submit it to the people. He was subsequently, with Mr. Grayson, chosen the first 
senators from Virginia under it, and in that capacity moved and carried through several 
amendments. In 1792, he was forced by ill health to retire from public life, when he 
was again honored by a vote of public thanks from the legislature of Virginia. He died 
June 19, 1794. 

Francis Lightfoot Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born Oct, 
10, 1734. His education was directed by a private tutor, and he inherited a fortune. In 
1765 he became a member of the House of Burgesses, and continued in that body untif 
1775, when the convention of Virginia chose him a member of the Continental Con- 
gress, in which he remained until 1779, when he entered the legislature of Va. He died 
in Richmond in 1797. 

Henry Lee, a governor of Va. and a distinguished officer of the revolution, was born 
Jan. 29, 1756. His family was one of high respectability and distinction. At 18 years 
of age he graduated at Princeton College. In 1776, when but 20 years of age, he was 
appointed captain of one of the six companies of cavalry composing the regiment of 
Col. Theodorick Bland. In Sept., 1777, Capt. Lee, with his company, joined the main 
army. He introduced excellent discipline into his corps, and rendered most effectual 
service, in attacking light parties of the enemy, in procuring information, and in foraging.- 

As Capt. Lee, in general, lay near the British lines, a plan was formed in the latter 
part of January, 1778, to cut off" both him and his troop. A body of 200 cavalry made 
an extensive circuit, and seizing four of his patrols, came unexpectedly upon him in his 
quarters, a stone house. He had then with him only ten men ; yet with these he made 
so desperate a defence, that the enemy were beaten off' with a loss of 4 killed, and an 



512 WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 

officer and 3 privates wounded. His heroism in this affair drew forth from Washington 
a complimentary letter, and he was soon after raised to the rank of a major, with the 
command of an independent partisan corps of two companies of horse, which after- 
wards was enlarged to three, and a body of infantry. On the 19th of July, 1779, Major 
Lee, at the head of about 300 men, completely surprised the British garrison at Powles' 
Hook — now Jersey Citj' — and after taking 160 prisoners, retreated with the loss of but 
2 men killed, and 3 wounded. For his " prudence, address, and bravery," in this affair, 
Congress voted him a gold medal. 

In the commencement of the year 1780, he joined, with his legion, the army of the 
south, having been previously promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In the cele. 
brated retreat of Greene before Cornwallis, Lee's legion formed the rear-guard of the 
army. So hot was the pursuit, that Col. Lee at one time came in contact with Tarle- 
ton's corps, and, in a successful charge, killed 18 of them, and made a captain and seve- 
ral privates prisoners. Shortly after, Lee with his legion, and Col. Pickens with some 
militia, attacked a party of 400 loyalist militia under Col. Pyle, killed 90, and wounded 
many others. At the battle of Guilford, Lee's legion distinguished itself; previous to 
the action, it drove back Tarleton's dragoons with loss, and afterwards maintained a 
sharp and separate conflict until the retreat of the main army. After this, Greene, in 
pursuance of the advice of liee, determined to advance at once into South Carolina, 
and endeavor to reannex to the Union that and its sister state of Georgia, instead of 
watching the motions of Cornwallis. The results were as fortunate as the design was 
"bold and judicious. In pursuance of this plan, Greene advanced southward, having pre- 
viously detached Lee, with the legion, to join the militia under Marion, and, in co- 
operation with him, to attempt the minor posts of the enemy. By a series of bold and 
vigorous operations. Forts Watson, Motte, and Granby, speedily surrendered ; after 
which, the legion was ordered to join Gen. Pickens, and attempt to gain possession of 
Augusta. On the way, Lee surprised and took Fort Galphin. The defences of Au- 
gusta consisted in two forts — Fort Cornwallis and Fort Grierson ; the latter was taken 
by assault, the former after a siege of 16 days. In the unfortunate assault upon Ninety- 
Six, Lee was completely successful in the part of the attack intrusted to his care. In 
the battle at Eutaw Springs, his exertions contributed much to the successful issue of 
the day. After the surrender of Yorktown, Lee retired from the army, carrying with 
him, however, the esteem and affection of Greene, and the acknowledgment that his ser- 
vices had been greater than those of any one man attached to the southern army. 

Soon after his return to Virginia, he married a» daughter of Philip Ludwell Lee, and 
settled at Stratford in this county. In 1786, he was a delegate to Congress ; in 1788, a 
member of the Virginia convention to ratify the constitution, in defence of which he 
greatly distinguished himself. From 1792 to 1795, he was governor of Virginia. On 
the breaking out of the Whiskey Insurrection, in 1755, he was appointed by Washing- 
ton to the command of the forces ordered against the insurgents, and received great 
credit for his conduct. In 1799 he was again a delegate in Congress, and upon the 
death of Washington, he was appointed to pronounce his eulogium. It was upon this 
occasion he originated the celebrated sentence : " First in war, first in peace, and first 
in the hearts of his countrymen." On the election of Jefferson he retired to private life. 

His last years were clouded by pecuniary troubles. The hospitable and profuse style 
of living so common in Virginia, ruined his estate, and even abridged his personal liberty. 
It was in 1809, while confined for debt, that he composed his elegantly written Memoirs 
of the Southern Campaign. 

General Lee was in Baltimore in 1812, at the time of the riot occasioned by the publica- 
tion of some strictures on the war in the Federal Republican, an anti-war paper. After the 
destruction of the printing-office, an attack on the dwelling of the editor was apprehended. 
Lee, from motives of personal friendship to the editor, with a number of others, assem- 
bled for the purpose of protecting it. On being attacked, two of the assailants were 
killed, and a number wounded. The military arriving soon after, effected a compromise 
with the mob, and conveyed the inmates of the house to the city-jail for their greater 
safety. In the night the mob reassembled in greater force, broke open the jail, killed, and 
mangled its inmates in a shocking manner. From injuries then received, Lee never 
recovered. He went to the West Indies for his health. His hopes proved futile. He 
returned in 1818 to Georgia, where he died. 

Gen. Lee was about five feet nine inches, well-proportioned, of an open, pleasant 
countenance, and a dark complexion. His manners were frank and engaging ; his dis- 
position generous and hospitable. By his first wife, he had a son and a daughter ; by 
his second, (a daughter of Charles "Carter, of Shirley,) he had three sons and two 
daughters. 




Fnoi iv I 1>\ \I> i^-g-ett, from the ori^lUdl raintmg.l.y CL'kiurJ rjLiiiilmU 



WA'^SSSM^lT'Diro 



WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 513 

Arthur Lee, M. D., minister of the United States to the court of Versailles, was a 
native of Virginia, and the brother of Richard Henry Lee. He was educated at the 
University of Edinburg, where he also pursued for some time the study of medicine. On his 
return to this country, he practised physic four or five years in Williamsburg. He then went 
to London, and commenced the study of the law in the Temple. During his residence in 
England he kept his eye on the measures of government, and rendered the most important 
services to his country, by sending to America the earliest intelligence of the plans of 
the ministry. When the instructions to Gov. Bernard were sent over, he at the same 
time communicated information to the town of Boston respecting the nature of them. 
He returned, it is believed, before 1769, for in that year he published the Monitor's 
Letters, in vindication of the colonial rights. In 1775 he was in London, as the agent 
of Virginia ; and he presented, in August, the second petition of Congress to the king. 
All his exertions were now directed to the good of his country. Wlien Mr. Jefferson 
declined the appointment of a minister to France, Dr. Lee was appointed to his place, 
and he joined his colleagues. Dr. Franklin and Mr. Deane, at Paris, in December, 
1776. He assisted in negotiating the treaty with France. In the year 1779, he and 
Mr. Adams, who had taken the place of Deane, were recalled, and Dr. Franklin was 
appointed sole minister to France. His return had been rendered necessary by the mali- 
cious accusations with which Deane had assailed his public conduct. 

In the preceding year Deane had left Paris, agreeably to an order of Congress, and 
came to this country in the same ship with the French minister Gerard. On his arrival, 
as many suspicions hovered around him, he thought it necessary to repel them by 
attacking the character of his colleague, Dr. Lee. In an inflammatory address to the 
public he vilified him in the grossest terms, charging him with obstructing the alliance 
with France, and disclosing the secrets of Congress to British noblemen. He at the 
same time impeached the conduct of his brother, William Lee, Esq., agent for Congress 
at the courts of Vienna and Berlin. Dr. Lee, also, was not on very good terms with Dr. 
Franklin, whom he believed to be too much under the influence of the French court. 
Firm in his attachment to the interest of his country, honest, zealous, he was inclined 
to question the correctness of all the commercial transactions in which the philosopher 
had been engaged. These dissensions among the ministers produced corresponding 
divisions in Congress ; and Monsieur Gerard had so little respect for the dignity of an 
ambassador, as to become a zealous partisan of Deane. Dr. Lee had many friends in 
Congress, but Dr. Franklin more. When the former returned to America in the year 
178u, such was his integrity, that he did not find it difficult to reinstate himself fully in 
the good opinion of the public. In 1784 he was appointed one of the commissioners for 
holding a treaty with the Indians of the Six Nations. He accordingly went to Fort 
Schuyler, and executed this trust in a manner which did him much honor. In February, 
1790, he was admitted a counsellor of the supreme court of the United States, by a 
special order. After a short illness, he died, December 14th, 1792, at Urbanna, in Mid- 
dlesex county, Virginia. He was a man of uniform patriotism, of a sound understand- 
ing, of great probity, of plain manners, and strong passions. 

During his residence for a number of years in England, he was indefatigable in his 
exertions to promote the interests of his country. To the abilities of a statesman he 
united the acquisitions of a scholar. He was a member of the American Philosophical 
Society. Besides the Monitor's Letters, written in the year 1769, which have been 
mentioned, he published " Extracts from a Letter to Congress, in answer to a Libel by 
Silas Deane," 178U ; and " Observations on certain Commercial Transactions in France," 
laid before Congress 1780. 

BusHROD Washington was born in this county, and educated at William and Mary. 
He studied law in Philadelphia, and commenced its practice with great success in this 
county. He was a member of the House of Delegates in 1781. He afterwards removed 
to Alexandria, and thence to Richmond, where he published two volumes of the deci- 
sions of the supreme court of Virginia. He was appointed, in 1798, an associate-justice 
of the supreme court of the United States, and continued to hold this situation until his 
death, in November, 1829. He was the favorite nephew of Gen. Washington, and was 
the devisee of Mount Vernon. He was noted for sound judgment, rigid integrity, and 
unpretending manners. 



65 



514 



WYTHE COUNTY. 



WYTHE. 

Wythe was formed in 1790, from Montgomery, and named from 
George Wythe, an eminent jurist, and a signer of the Declaration 
of Independence ; it is 24 miles long and 20 wide. The greater 
part of the county is a mountain valley, included between Walk- 
er's mountain on the nw. and Iron mountain on the se. Wythe 
valley is an elevated table-land, about 2,200 feet above the level of 
the ocean. The surface is drained, principally, by New River and 
its tributaries. The soil is good, and peculiarly adapted to the 
cultivation of grass. Gypsum is advantageously used in agricul- 
ture. Wythe is rich in minerals, in iron, lead, and coal. Pop. in 
1840, whites 7,632, slaves 1,618, free colored 125 ; total, 9,375. 




View in Wytheville. 

Wytheville, the county-seat, is on the main turnpike from Har- 
per's Ferry to Knoxville, Tenn., 248 miles southwesterly from 
Richmond, 55 miles from Abingdon, and 27 from Newbern. This 
town was established by law in 1792, on land given by Stophel 
Zimmerman and John Davis ; and the following gentlemen were 
appointed trustees : Alexander Smyth, Walter Crockett, William 
Ward, Robert Adams, James Newell, David McGavock, William 
Caffee, and Jesse Evans ; it bore the name of Evansham, until 
changed to its present one in 1838. It contains 8 mercantile stores, 
2 newspaper printing-offices, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Protestant Metho- 
dist, 1 German Lutheran, and 1 Catholic church, and about 700 
inhabitants. The village is neat, well built, and flourishing. 

About nine miles easterly of Wytheville, on the great road, an- 
ciently stood Fort Chisivell, which was occupied by British troops 
in Braddock's war. This spot was once the county-seat of Mont- 



WOOD COUNTY. 515 

gomery, and there is now standing a log tenement that was used 
for a jail. Tradition points to a stump at this place, as being the 
remains of the identical tree to which Daniel Morgan was tied 
and whipped for beating a British officer. We doubt the authen- 
ticity of the tradition. This occurrence, we believe, took place 
several hundred miles further north. The circumstances have 
been variously stated. We here give them as we received them 
from the lips of an officer of the revolution, who served under 
Morgan. 

Morgan at that time had charge of wagons transporting bag- 
gage. An officer on this occasion came out and asked him why 
the wagons were not ready for the march. He replied that he had 
been delayed, but would have them ready as soon as possible. 
The other insultingly replied, if he did not hurry he would run him 
through with his sword. Morgan gave him a tart reply. The 
officer thereupon fell into a passion, and made a lunge at him with 
his sword. The latter parried the blow with a heavy wagon 
whip, broke his sword, and gave him a severe drubbing. A court- 
martial sentenced him to receive 500 lashes. After receiving 450 
of them, Morgan fainted. He was then allowed to go free, as it 
was feared the complement would kill him. The officer after- 
wards becoming convinced of his error, asked Morgan's pardon. 



The LEAD MINES of Wythe are about 13 miles easterly from the C. H., on New River, 
opposite the mouth of Cripple creek. Formerly they were worked with great profit ; 
but the discovery of lead in the far west has operated disadvantageously to the interest 
of the proprietors of these works, situated, as they are, so far inland, and away from 
easy means of transportation. These mines were discovered very early, and were ex- 
tensively worked in the revolution. The first proprietor was Col. Chiswell, an English 
gentleman, who built a frame house — the first frame house erected in this section of the 
country — which is now standing, in a dilapidated condition, near the mouth of Mill 
creek. The Col. attempted unsuccessfully to extract silver from the ore. He killed a 
man in a quarrel, and died in prison. Col. Lynch then came in possession, and after 
him, Moses and Stephen Austin,* who worked the mines for several years until 1796. 
Since, the mines have passed through the hands of several proprietors. They are now 
owned by the heirs of Col. James White, David Pierce, and Thomas Jackson. 
Formerly, shafts were sunk perpendicularly at the top of the hill, from 50 to 150 feet, 
imtil the ore was struck, when the excavations were nearly horizontal. From the 
bottom of the shafts the ore was raised by windlasses. In 1840 an excavation was 
commenced at the level of the plain on New River, and runs in horizontally, at the present 
time, 1000 feet in solid limestone rock. The material excavated is carried off by a rail- 
road. Dr. Morse, in the 1st edition of his geography, published in 1789, has a descrip- 
tion of these mines. 



WOOD. 



Wood was formed in 1799, from Harrison, and named from 
James Wood, governor of Virginia from 1796 to 1799; it is 35 
miles long, and 30 wide. Nearly the whole of its territory is em- 
braced in the valley of the Little Kanawha and its tributaries, 

* Stephen Austin, whose name is intimately connected with the early history of Texas, was a son 
of the above. He was born at the mines. 



516 



WOOD COUNTY. 



Hughes River, and n. fork of Hughes River. The surface is much 
broken, but the soil for the most part is good. Pop. in 1840, whites 
7,243, slaves 624, free colored 56 ; total, 7,923. 

Parkersburg, the county-seat, is a neat village, beautifully situ- 
ated on the Ohio at the mouth of the Little Kanawha, 335 miles 




BlannerhasseVs Island. 

northwesterly from Richmond, 94 below Wheeling, 12 below Ma- 
rietta, and 264 miles above Cincinnati. It is the most flourishing 
river village in the state, below Wheeling ; it contains 9 mercan- 
tile stores, a bank, 1 newspaper printing office, 2 steam grist and 
2 steam saw mills, 1 steam carding factory, 1 iron foundry, 2 ex- 
tensive tanneries, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Baptist, 1 Episcopalian, and 1 
Methodist church, and a population of about 1,100. A turnpike, 
about 280 miles in length, has lately been finished from Winches- 
ter to Parkersburg ; and it is contemplated to continue the Balti- 
more and Ohio rail-road to this place. 

Elizabeth is on the Little Kanawha, and has one Methodist and 
1 Baptist church, a store, some mills, and about 25 dwellings. 
Belville, about 18 miles below the C. H., is a small village, on a 
beautiful and fertile bottom of the Ohio. The settlement at Bel- 
ville was commenced in the year 1786, by a mercantile house at 
Philadelphia. This spot was the site of a strong garrison during 
the Indian war, and many tragic events transpired around it, an. 
interesting account of which is given in Dr. Hildreth's history of 
Belville. 

About two miles below Parkersburg, in the Ohio River, is Blan- 
nerhasset's Island, a beautifully wooded tract. Its original owner 
was Col. P. Devoll, of Virginia. He sold it to Mr. Elijah Backus 
about the period of the settlement of the Ohio company. In 1798 
he disposed of the upper half of it to Mr. Blannerhasset, who 
shortly after commenced improving it. An English traveller, by 



W'OOD COUNTY. 517 

the name of Ashe, who was here in 1806, thus describes the island 
and its accomplished occupants : 

The island hove in sight to great advantage from the middle of the river, from which 
point of view little more appeared than the simple decorations of nature ; trees, shrubs, 
flowers, of every perfume and kind. The next point of view on running with the cur- 
rent, on the right hand side, varied to a scene of enchantment. A lawn, in the form of 
a fan inverted, presented itself, the nut forming the centre and summit of the island, 
and the broad segment the borders of the water. The lawn contained one hundred 
acres of the best pasture, interspersed with flowering shrubs and clumps of trees, in a 
manner that conveyed a strong conviction of the taste and judgment of the proprietor. 
The house came into view at the instant I was signifying a wish that such a lawn had 
a mansion. It stands on the immediate summit of the island, whose ascent is very 
gradual ; is snow white ; three stories high, and furnished with wings which interlock 
the adjoining trees, confine the prospect, and intercept the sight of barns, stables, and 
out-offices, which are so often suffered to destroy the effect of the noblest views in 
England. 

The full front of the house being the signal for pulling in for the island, we did so 
immediately, and fell below a small wharf that covered an eddy and made the landing 
both easy and secure. There was no resisting the friendly importunity of my fellow 
passengers ; no excuse would be taken ; to stop the night at least, was insisted upon, 
and with a convincing expression that showed the desire flowed from hearts desirous not 
to be refused. There is something so irresistible in invitations of such a nature that 
they cannot be denied. I gave instructions respecting the boat, and giving the lady my 
arm, we walked up the beautiful lawn, through which a winding path led to the house. 
It was tea-time. That refreshment was served and conducted with a propriety and 
elegance I never witnessed out of Britain. The conversation was chaste and general, 
and the manners of the lady and gentleman were refined, without being frigid ; dis- 
tinguished, without being ostentatious ; and familiar, without being vulgar, importunate, 
or absurd. 

Before the decline of day we walked into the gardens, which were elegantly laid out 
in your country's style ; produced remarkably fine vegetables, and had a very favorable 
show of standard peaches, and other fruit. The island abounds with vines, which grow to 
great height and strengtli, but never produce to any perfection. The path we had taken led 
to the water, the border of which brought us to the boat, where it seems all the servants 
of the family had assembled to hear what news my people might have brought into their 
little world. We found them seated on the green around Mindreth, who, proud to be 
their historian, related tales of such peril and affright, that they gazed on him with sen- 
sations of wonder and astonishment. The poor Mandanean, excluded by his color and 
aspect from participating in the social pleasures of the whites, had built himself a good 
fire, made himself the section of a tent, and was preparing his rod and line to catch 
some fish for supper. I saw the lady so pleased with this scene, and so delighted with 
Cuff's truly rural establishment, that I proposed supping on the shore, and by displaying 
a specimen of my evenings on the river, give some idea of former times, and the innocent 
enjoyments of primitive life. The night being perfectly fine, and the moon out, and 
some light clouds hindering the dew from falling, my proposition was joyfully acceded 
to, and instructions were given accordingly. 

This determination gave life and interest to a scene that before was calm and pleasing. 
All was action and bustle. The historian no more attended. Ev«ry one assumed an 
occupation, and Cuff saw his tent surrounded by twenty willing assistants. The lady 
being busy instructing the servants, and sending them to the house for a few necessary 
articles, I proposed to the gentlemen to take the canoe across the current, and under the 
shade of the trees of the bank, with a lighted torch, attract the fish to the surface, and 
spear them while gazing at the blaze. We crossed over, and met with the success of 
striking seven large cat and sunfishes, in less than half an hour. We returned with the 
torch still burning, and the hands singing " The Beauteous Month of May," in cadence 
to the paddles, which rose and struck with a preconcerted regularity. This mode of 
nocturnal fishing was quite novel to the inhabitants of the little insulated world. The 
}ady was charmed with it, and declared that the view of the canoe by torchlight, across 
the water ; the conversation, obscurely heard ; the sudden bursts of exultation announc- 
ing every success ; and the cheerful return, with mirth and song, was an miprovement 
of the finest sort to a scene she before deemed incapable of augmentation. After 
chatting some time on subjects immediately arising out of occurring incidents, and 



518 WOOD COUNTY. 

admiring the versatility of mind which one time finds felicity in towns and midnight 
masquerades, and at another acknowledges happiness on the contrasted theatre of the 
rivers and wilderness, we sat down to our repast, and in a short time paid the encomium 
of a satiated appetite. After which we returned to the house, where, over a bottle of 
wine, one hour longer we conversed on the pleasures of our rural sports, and retired to 
rest with that heartfelt ease which follows an innocent and well-spent day. Next morn- 
ing, after breakfast, I with difficulty tore myself from this interesting family. You will 
excuse me for omitting the names of this amiable couple. They were from Ireland. 

Such is the description which this traveller gives, ere the island 
became the scene of those events which attracted the attention 
of the whole country. It was at this time in the zenith of its 
beauty, and answered fully the glowing description of Wirt in the 
trial of Burr at Richmond, in the year succeeding. Much mys- 
tery has hung over the history of Blannerhasset and his connection 
with Burr. From a lecture given upon the subject, in New York, 
in February, 1845, by William Wallace, Esq., the following is prin- 
cipally derived. The lecturer had in his possession the papers of 
the Blannerhasset family, and other authentic sources of informa- 
tion: 

Herman Blannerhasset was from a distinguished and wealthy Irish family, and was 
born in England while his mother was there on a visit. He received part of his educa- 
tion in England, and afterwards graduated at the University of Dublin, and acquired 
the profession of the law. He married Miss Adeline Agnew, a grand-daughter of the 
Gen. Agnew who was with Wolfe at Quebec. Being in principle a republican, he sold 
his estates, and coming to this country, landed at New York, where he was hospitably 
received by the first families. About the year 1798, he commenced his improvements 
on the island. His workmen were principally from Philadelphia. While his house was 
building, himself and family resided at Marietta. One who knew Mrs. Blannerhasset in- 
formed the writer that she was the most beautiful and accomplished lady she ever knew. 
She was gay and dressy, and an elegant dancer. She was fond of walking and riding, 
and on one occasion walked up to Marietta, a distance of ten or twelve miles. She was 
also a splendid equestrian, and was accustomed to ride attired in a scarlet riding-dress, 
and made her horse leap fences and ditches with ease. While at the island, Mr. Blan- 
nerhasset " possessed a voluminous library of choice and valuable books; a full set of 
chemical apparatus, and philosophical instruments, to the accommodation of which one 
wing of the dwelling-house was appropriated. He was a fine scholar, well versed in 
the languages, and refined in taste and manners. So tenacious was his memory, that 
he could repeat the whole of Homer's Iliad in the original Greek. With an ample for- 
tune to supply every want, a beautiful and highly accomplished wife, and children just 
budding into life, he seemed surrounded with every thing which can make existence 
desirable and happy. The adjacent settlements of Belprie and Marietta, although se- 
cluded in the wilderness, contained many men of cultivated minds and refined manners, 
with whom he held constant and familiar intercourse; so that he lacked none of the 
benefits of society which his remote and insular situation would seem to indicate. Many 
were the cheerful and merry gatherings of the young people of these two towns beneath , 
his hospitable roof, while the song and the dance echoed through the halls."* 

In 1805, Aaron Burr, then sailing down the Ohio, landed uninvited on the island, 
where he was received with frank hospitality by the family. He remained but three 
days ; but afterwards frequently visited the island, and finally enticed Blannerhasset 
into his plans. These were to settle an armed force on the Washita, for the purpose of 
colonizing that region, and, in case of war between Spain and the United States — at that 
time threatened — to subjugate Mexico. It was charged against Burr at his trial, that 
he meditated the severing of the eastern from the western states ; but the folly of such 
a scheme was too absurd for the sagacity of this artful man. And he solemnly declared 
on his death-bed that he never meditated treason against the United States. If he did, 
Blannerhasset was not aware of the fact, as the letters of himself and wife evince. 
Burr did not, however, impart to him all his plans. He only wished to excite the cu- 

• Dr. S. P. Hildreth, American Pioneer, vol. i. p. 93. 



YORK COUNTY. 519 

pidity of Blannerhasset with the prospect of great gains from his land speculations on 
the Washita, so as to gain access to his purse. Burr gave security for moneys advanced, 
on his son-in-law, Mr. Allston, of South Carolina ; and while their plans were consum- 
mating, the accomplished daughter of Burr, Mrs. Allston, was a guest of Mrs. Blanner- 
hasset. In the mean time Mr. Blannerhasset had constructed a flotilla of about twenty 
barges, in the vicinity of Marietta, for the expedition. The peculiar form of these 
boats excited curiosity and apprehension. In December, 1806, he went down the Ohio 
with them, having on board about thirty men, and loaded with parched corn meal. In 
the mean time an order was received by Col. Phelps, the commandant of the militia of 
Wood county, for his arrest, with his associates. Mrs. Blannerhasset met the military 
with unblanched cheeks, and forbade their touching any thing not mentioned in the 
warrant ; but " the mob spirit of the militia ran riot, the well-stored cellars of the man- 
sion were assailed, fences were destroyed to feed the sentinel's fires, the shrubbery was 
trampled^under foot, and for amusement, balls fired into the rich gilded ceiling of the 
walj^""' " By the aid of some of her kind neighbors in Belprie, who were friendly to her 
husband, and greatly pitied her unpleasant condition, she was enabled to embark a few 
days after, with her two little sons, the most valuable of her effects, and black servants, 
in a boat ; but did not rejoin Mr. Blannerhasset until he reached Louisville. Well 
might they look back in after years with fond regret, to the fair Eden from which they 
had been expelled by their own indiscretion, and the deceptive blandishments of Aaron 
Burr. In the year 1812, the dwelling-house and offices were destroyed by an accidental 
fire. The garden, with all its beautiful shrubbery, was converted into a corn-field, the 
ornamental gateway which graced the gravelled avenue from the river to the house, was 
thrown down ; and for many years not a vestige has been left of the splendid and happy 
home of Herman Blannerhasset but the name. Nearly forty years have elapsed since 
some of these events were transacted, and the thousands of passengers who annually 
travel up and down the Ohio in steamboats, still eagerly inquire after, and gaze upon 
the ' island of Blannerhasset' with wonder and delight."* 

At the time of the trial of Burr at Richmond, Blannerhasset had been arrested, and 
was placed in the penitentiary at Richmond. His description of the trial, as preserved 
in his correspondence, the graphic picture of Judge Marshall, of Wirt, and the cele- 
brated Luther Martin, is drawn with the skill of a master. 

As the jury failed to convict Burr, the principal, his accomplice Blannerhasset was 
not brought to trial, and was set at liberty. He was, however, about ruined. The se- 
curity which Burr gave for moneys advanced failed, and Blannerhasset, from being a 
very wealthy man, was reduced to indigence. He had gone through this fiery ordeal 
with a character unimpeached, although subjected to the severest calumnies. This is 
evinced by his continuing to enjoy the friendship of that worthy patriot Thomas Addis 
Emmet, and of many other men of standing. 

Mr. Blannerhasset after this settled on a cotton plantation in Mississippi. At the 
close of the war he came on to the north to educate his children, from whence he re- 
moved to Canada, where he practised his profession as a lawyer. In 1822 he went to 
England with his family; and finally died on the island of Guernsey, at the age of 
sixty-three years. He left his wife and three children. Mrs. Blannerhasset came to 
America, and preferred claims against the United States, but without success. She 
died in New York city, in 1842, where one of her sons is now residing. 



YORK. 



York was one of the eight original counties into which Virginia 
was divided in 1634. Chesapeake Bay bounds it on the east, and 
York River on the ne. It is 30 miles long, with a mean width of 
5 miles. Population in 1840, 4,720. 

Yorktown, the seat of justice, is on York River, 11 miles from 
its mouth, 33 from Norfolk, and 70 from Richmond. It was estab- 
lished by law in 1 705, and was once a flourishing village, and had 

* Dr. S. P. Hildreth. 



520 



YORK COUNTY. 



considerable commerce. There are now only about 40 dwellings, 
many of which are dilapidated and fast going to decay. The 
Swan tavern, in this town, is said to be the oldest in Virginia. 

The water scenery at York is fine. The river, fall a mile vtdde, 
is seen stretching far away until it merges into Chesapeake Bay — 
an object of beauty when rolling in the morning light, its ripples 
sparkling in the sun, or when its broad bosom is tinged with the 




Ruins at Yorktown. 

cloud-reflected hues of an autumnal sunset. On its banks stand 
the ruins of the old church. Silence reigns within its walls, and 
the ashes of the illustrious dead repose at its base. 

This church was built about 150 years ago: it was destroyed by 
the great fire in 1814. The old bell, now preserved, bears the in- 
scription, " County of York, Virginia, 1725." The Hon. Francis 
Nicholson contributed 20 pounds sterling to its cost, as appears by 
the following paper that appeared sometime since in the Richmond 
Inquirer, being a literal copy from the records of York county 
court : 

" York county October ye 26th, 1696. I promise to give five pounds sterling towards 
building the colt, house at York6 Town, and twenty pounds sterl'g if within two years 
they build a brick church att the same towne. As witness my hand ye day and year 
above written. 

"FFRA: NICHOLSON. 
" Stiphen ffoward. 

«' Robt. Bill ; November ye 24th : 1696. 
" The above writing p'ented in cott: and according to order is committed to Record, 
p. " WILLIAM SEDGWICK, cl. cur." 

The walls " are composed of stone marl, which, it is said, is 
soft when taken out of its native bed, and becomes hardened by 
time and exposure, until it acquires the hardness and durability of 
solid stone."* 

* Article " Yorktown," by V. C, in Southern Lit. Mess., Jan., 1844. . 



YORK COUNTY. 521 

In the above view the ruins of the church are partly shown on 
the left ; in front the tomb of Gov. Nelson, and monuments of the 
Nelson family ; and in the distance York River, stretching away 
towards the ocean. We annex two inscriptions from tombstones 
beautifully sculptured. The first is upon a quadrangular monu- 
ment, about 4 feet high, 3 wide, and 6 long. It is the work 
of " Mr. Saunders, Cannon-street, London." Upon one end are 
sculptured two angel's faces ; one of which is breaking out from 
a cloud, on which is written, " All glory be to God." The other 
face below, with trumpet in mouth, is heralding the above inscrip- 
tion. Upon the other end are also two angel's heads : one is about 
receiving a crown from the hand of an invisible body hidden 4)e- 
hind the clouds. This monument is that of the progenitor of the 
Nelson family in Virginia, and the grandfather of Gov. Nelson. 
He emigrated from Penrith, Cumberland county, England, which 
county had been transferred by Henry III. to the crown of Scot- 
land, and upon failure of male heirs, reverted as a base fee to Eng- 
land ; he was from this circumstance called Scotch Tom. On top 
is the Nelson coat-of-arms, then follows the inscription : 

•' Hie jacet, spe certa resurgendi in Christi, Thomas Nelson, gcenerosus, Filius Hugonia 
et SariiB Nelson de Penrith, in Comitatu Cumbriae, natus 20mo die Februarii Anno 
Domini 1677, vitae bene gestee finem implevitTmo die Octobris 1745, tetatis suae 68." 

[Translation.] 

" Here lies, in certain hope of a resurrection in Christ, Thomas Nelson, gentleman, 
son of Hugo and Sarah Nelson, of Penrith, in the county of Cumberland : born Feb- 
ruary 20, A. D. 1677, died October 7, 1745, aged 68." 

The other monument, that of Gov. Nelson's father, is also beau- 
tifully ornamented by carved work. Below is the inscription : 

Here lies the body of the Hon. William Nelson, late president of his Majesty's coun- 
cil in this Dominion, in whom the love of man and the love of God so restrained and en- 
forced each other, and so invigorated the mental powrers in general, as not only to defend 
him from the vices and follies of his age and country, but also to render it a matter of 
difficult decision in what part of laudable conduct he most excelled ; whether in the ten- 
der and endearing accomplishments of domestic life, or in the more arduous duties of a 
wider circuit ; whether as a neighbor, gentleman, or a magistrate ; whether in the graces 
of hospitality, charity, or piety. Reader, if you feel the spirit of that exalted ardor 
which aspires to the felicity of conscious virtue, animated by those stimulating and di- 
vine admonitions, perform the task and expect the distinction of the righteous man. 
Obit. 19th of Nov., Anno Domini 1772, setatis 61. 

The Nelson mansion is a large two-story brick building, front- 
ing the river, on the main street of the town. It is built on the old 
English model. It is now the residence of William Nelson, Esq., 
and in the war of the revolution was that of Gov. Thomas Nelson, 
by whose father, the Hon. William Nelson, it was erected. Por- 
traits of this last-named gentleman and wife, which were 
mutilated by the British at Hanover, where they were sent for 
safety, adorn its walls. A view of this building is sho'wn in the 
background to the frontispiece to this volume. During the siege 
of York, the house was bombarded by the American army, and 
now bears marks of cannon shot. Gov. Nelson, then in Washing- 
ton's army, had command of the first battery which opened upon 

66 



522 YORK COUNTY. 

the town. Rightly supposing it was occupied by some of the 
British officers, he pointed the first gun against his own dwelling, 
and offered a reward to the soldiers of five guineas for every 
bomb-shell that should be fired into it. The following is a brief 
sketch of this genuine patriot : 

Thomas Nelson, jun., a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born at York, 
Dec. 26, 1738. When in his fifteenth year, according to the prevailing fashion among 
gentlemen of affluence at the south, he was sent to England to receive his education. 
His first appearance in public life was in 1774, as a member of the House of Burgesses. 
He was a member of the conventions of 1774 and 1775 ; and evinced such a boldness 
and promptitude in opposing British aggression, as to alarm some of his personal friends, 
particularly when he proposed the organization of a military force among the colonists. 
In the military organization of Virginia he was appointed to the command of a regi- 
ment. In September, 1775, he first took his seat in the general Congress, to which he 
was reappointed the following year. In the summer of 1777, ill health compelled him 
to resign his seat and return to Virginia. The state was at that time threatened with in- 
vasion, and Mr. Nelson was appointed brigadier-general and commander-in-chief of all its 
military forces. His popularit}' was unbounded, and his appointment gave universal satis- 
faction. About this time a motion was made to sequester the debts due in this state to 
English merchants. His inflexible and zealous opposition to the proposition in the legis- 
lature redounded to his honor, and evinced the lofty integrity of his character. At 
this period the American cause was threatened with annihilation, and Congress made an 
appeal to the patriotism of the young men of property and standing. When the appeal 
was published, Gen. Nelson embarked in the cause with his characteristic ardor. He 
published an animating address, and succeeded in enlisting about seventy young Vir- 
ginians in a volunteer corps, and furnished a number of them with the means of defray, 
ing their expenses, from his own purse. At the head of this Spartan band he marched 
to the north ; but a change of circumstances occurring, their services were not required. 
In this enterprise Gen. Nelson expended large sums of money, which were never repaid. 

Early in 1779, he was again a short time in Congress, but ill health again compelled 
him to return to Virginia. In 1780, when the state undertook to borrow two millions of 
dollars for the aid of Congress, Gen. Nelson opened a subscription. Calling on several 
friends, they declared that they would not lend him a shilling on the security of the 
commonwealth, but they would lend him all they could possibly raise ; upon which he 
added his own personal security to that of the state, and succeeded in raising a large pro- 
portion of the sum required. By this and similar patriotic exertions, he suffered severe 
pecuniary losses, but never relaxed his exertions. He had at the beginning anticipated 
sufferings and sacrifices in effecting the independence of his country, and prepared 
his mind to meet and sustain them. In 1781, when the storm of war burst upon Vir- 
ginia, Gen. Nelson was actively employed in effecting plans to oppose the enemy ; and, 
succeeding Mr. Jefferson as governor, he was compelled to unite in himself the two 
offices of governor and commander of the military forces. By great exertions Gov. Nel- 
son kept his forces together until the capture of Cornwallis. To do this, he exerted his 
personal influence, his official authority, and his private fortune, to the utmost extent. 
After the surrender, Washington, in his account of it, made a very honorable acknow- 
ledgment of the valuable services of Gov. Nelson, and the militia under his command, 
during the siege, in securing its important issue. 

In a month after, ill-health compelled Gov. Nelson to retire again to private life, 
where malice and envy preferred base accusations against him for mal-administration 
of his office. But he was most honorably exculpated by the legislature. He never 
again entered public life. His time was passed in retirement at his plantation in Han- 
over, and at York. His health gradually declining, he died in Hanover, Jan. 4th, 1789, 
aged fifty years. 



About a mile and a half below Yorktown, on what is called the 
Temple Farm, are many, old chimneys, indicating the site of an 
ancient settlement. About a quarter of a mile from the York, on 
the margin of a forest, are to be seen the vestiges of an ancient 
temple. It was surrounded, a few yards distant, by a wall. 



YORK COUNTY. 5r23 

probably intended for defence against sudden attacks from the In- 
dians. Within the enclosure are several defaced and broken 
monuments. One only is legible, a flat slab adorned with the 
insignia of heraldry. It bears this inscription : 

Major William Gooch, of this Parish, dyed Octob. 29, 1655. 
Within this tomb there dotli interred lie, 
No shape but substance, true nobility ; 
Its self though young, in years, but twenty-nine, 
Yet graced with vertues morall and divine ; 
The church from him did good participate 
In counsell rare fit to adorn a state. 



Yorktown is memorable in American history as being the spot 
where, on the 19th of October, 1781, the army of Cornwallis sur- 
rendered to the combined armies of America and France. Dr. 
Thatcher, a surgeon in Washington's army, has given in his jour- 
nal a full account of the siege and surrender, which gives its inci- 
dents as they transpired from day to day. From this lucid narra- 
tion we subjoin the following : 

^Ith Sept. — We arrived at Yorktown yesterday from Jamestown, and have encamped 
within one mile of the enemy's line of redoubts. ^ 

26th. — The French troops have arrived, and euCTimped on our left. Yorktown is situ- 
ated on the south bank of the river, about fifteen miles from its entrance into Chesapeake 
Bay. In this little village, Lord Cornwallis, with about seven thousand troops, has taken 
his station, and is endeavoring to fortify himself against the impending danger of our 
combined operations. His communication by water is entirely cut off by the French 
ships of war stationed at the mouth of the river, preventing both his escape and receiv- 
ing succor from Sir Henry Clinton at New York. The allied army is about twelve 
thousand strong, exclusive of the militia under Gov. Nelson. The Americans form the 
right, and the French the left wing of the combined forces, each extending to the borders 
of the river, by which the besiegers form a half circle round the town. His Excellency 
General Washington commands in person, and is assisted by Major-General Lincoln, 
Baron Steuben, the Marquis de Lafayette, General Knox, &,c. The French troops are 
commanded by General the Count Rochambeau, a brave and experienced officer, having 
under him a number of officers of distinguished character. Unbounded confidence is 
reposed in our illustrious commanders, the spirit of emulation and military ardor univer- 
sally prevail, and we are sanguine in our expectations that a surrender of the royal army 
must be his lordship's fate. 

A cannonade commenced yesterday from the town, by which one man received a 
wound, and I assisted in amputating his leg. 3Qth. — We were agreeably surprised this 
morning, to find that the enemy had, during the preceding night, abandoned three or four 
of their redoubts, and retired within the town, leaving a considerable extent of command- 
ing ground which might have cost us much labor and many lives to obtain by force. 
Our light infantry and a party of French were ordered to advance and take possession 
of the abandoned ground, and to serve as a covering party to our troops, who are em- 
ployed in throwing up breastworks. Considerable cannonading from the besieged in the 
course of the day, and four militiamen were wounded by a single shot, one of whom 
died soon after. An occurrence has just been announced which fills our hearts with 
grief and sorrow. Col. Alexander Scammel being officer of the day, while reconnoi- 
tring the ground which the enemy had abandoned, was surprised by a party of their liorse, 
and after having surrendered, they had the baseness to inflict a wound which we fear 
will prove mortal ; they have carried him into Yorktown. 

October 1st and 2d. — Our troops have been engaged in throwing up two redoubts in 
the night-time ; on discovery, the enemy commenced a furious cannonade, but it does 
not deter our men from going on vigorously with their work. Heavy cannon and mortars 
are continually arriving, and the greatest preparations are made to prosecute the siege in 
the most effectual manner. 

'id and 4th. — A considerable cannonading from the enemy, one shot killed three men, 
and mortally wounded another. While the Rev. Mr. Evans, our chaplain, was standing 



524 YORK COUNTY. 

near the commander-in-chief, a shot struck the ground so near as to cover his hat with 
sand ; being much agitated, he took off his hat and said, " See here, general." " Mr. 
Evans," rephed his Excellency, with his usual composure, " j'ou had better carry that 
home and show it to your wife and children." Two soldiers from the French, and one 
from us, deserted to the enemy, and two British soldiers deserted to our camp the same 
night. The enemy, from the want of forage, are killing off their horses in great numbers ; 
six or seven hundred of these valuable animals have been killed, and their carcasses are 
almost continually floating down the river. The British are in possession of a place 
called Gloucester, on the north side of the river, nearly opposite Yorktown ; their force 
consists of one British regiment, and Col. Tarleton's legion of horse and infantry. In 
opposition to this force the French legion, under the command of the Duke de Luzerne, 
and a detachment of French infantry and militia, are posted in that vicinity. Tarleton 
is a bold and impetuous leader, and has spread terror through the Carolinas and Virginia 
for some time past. In making a sally from Gloucester yesterday, they were attacked 
by the French, and defeated, with the loss of the commanding officer of their infantry, 
and about fifty men killed and wounded ; among the latter is Tarleton himself. The duke 
lost three men killed, and two officers and eleven men wounded. It is with much con- 
cern we learn that Col. Scammel died at WilUamsburg, of the wound which he received 
a few days since, when he was taken prisoner ; the wound was inflicted after he had 
surrendered. At the request of Gen. Washington, Lord Cornwallis allowed him to be 
carried to Williamsburg, where he died this day, universally lamented, as he was while 
living universally respected and esteemed. The commander-in-chief was well apprized 
of his merit, and bestowed on him marks of his friendly regard and confidence. For 
some time he sustained the office of adjutant-general to our army, but preferring a more 
active command and the post of danger, he was put at the head of a regiment of light 
infantry for this enterprising campaign. The British have sent from Yorktown a large 
number of negroes sick with the smallpox, probably for the purpose of communicating 
the infection to our army ; thus our inhuman enemies resort to every method in their 
power, however barbarous or cruel, to injure and distress, and thus to gain an advantage 
over their opposers. 

1th, — A large detachment of the allied army, under command of Major-General Lin- 
coln, were ordered out last evening, for the purpose of opening intrenchments near the 
enemy's lines. This business was conducted with great silence and secrecy, and we 
were favored by Providence with a night of extreme darkness, and were not discovered 
before daylight. The working party carried on their shoulders fascines and intrenching 
tools, while a large part of the detachment was armed with the implements of death. 
Horses, drawing cannon and ordnance, and wagons loaded with bags filled with sand 
for constructing breastworks, followed in the rear. Thus arranged, every officer and 
soldier knowing his particular station, orders were given to advance in perfect silence, 
the distance about one mile. My station on this occasion was, with Dr. Munson, my 
mate, in the rear of the troops, and as the music was not to be employed, about twenty 
drummers and fifers were put under my charge to assist me in case of having wounded 
men to attend. Our troops were indefatigable in their labors during the night, and be- 
fore daylight they had nearly completed the first parallel line of nearly two miles in ex- 
tent, besides laying a foundation for two redoubts, within about six hundred yards 
of the enemy's lines. At daylight, the enemy having discovered our works, com- 
menced a severe cannonade ; but our men being under cover received no injury. A 
French soldier deserted to the enemy, after which there was a constant firing against the 
French lines, and one officer was killed, and fifteen men were killed or wounded. In 
the latter pai-t of the night it rained severely, and being in the open field, cold, and un- 
comfortable, I entered a small hut made of brush, which the enemy had abandoned ; 
soon after, a man came to the door, and seeing me standing in the centre, instantly drew 
his sword, and put himself in an attitude to plunge it into me. I called out friend, 
friend, and he as speedily to my great joy responded, " Ah, Monsieur, friend," and re- 
turning his sword to its place he departed. I think he was a French soldier, and it is 
doubtful whether he or myself was the most frightened. 

Qth and 9<A. — The duty of our troops has been for several days extremely severe ; 
our regiment labors in the trenches every other day and night, where I find it difficult 
to avoid suffering by the cold, having no other covering than a single blanket in the open 
field. We erected a battery last night in front of our first parallel, without any annoy- 
ance from the enemy. Two or three of our batteries being now prepared to open on the 
town, his Excellency Gen. Washington put the match to the first gun, and a furious dis- 



YORK COUNTY. 525 

charge of cannon and mortars immediately followed, and Earl Cornwallis has received 
his first salutation. 

From the 10th to the 15th, a tremendous and incessant firing from the American and 
French batteries is kept up, and the enemy return the fire, but witli little effect. A red 
hot shell from the French battery set fire to the Charon, a British 44 gun ship, and two 
or three smaller vessels at anchor in the river, which were consumed iu the night. From 
the bank of the river, I had a fine view of this splendid conflagration. The ships were 
wrapped in a torrent of fire, which, spreading with vivid brightness among the com- 
bustible rigging, and running with amazing rapidity to the tops of the several masts, 
while all around was thunder and lightning from our numerous cannons and mortars, and 
in the darkness of night, presented one of the most sublime and magnificent spectacles 
which can be imagined. Some of our shells, overreaching the town, are seen to fall in- 
to the river, and bursting, throw up columns of water like the spouting of the monsters 
» of the deep. We have now made further approaches to the town, by throwing up a 
second parallel line, and batteries within about three hundred yards ; this was effected in 
the night, and at daylight the enemy were roused to the greatest exertions — the engines 
of war have raged with redoubled fury and destruction on both sides, no cessation day 
or night. The French had two officers wounded, and fifteen men killed or wounded, and 
among the Americans two or three were wounded. I assisted in amputating a man's 
thigh. The siege is daily becoming more and more formidable and alarming, and bis 
lordship must view his situation as extremely critical, if not desperate. Being in the 
trenches every other night and day, I have a fine opportunity of witnessing the sublime 
and stupendous scene which is continually exhibiting. The bomb-shells from the be- 
siegers and the besieged are incessantly crossing each other's path in the air. They are 
clearly visible in the form of a black ball in the day, but in the night they appear like a 
fiery meteor with a blazing tail, most beautifully lirilliant, ascending majestically from 
the mortar to a certain altitude, and gradually descending to the spot where they are 
destined to execute their work of destruction. It is astonishing with what accuracy an 
experienced gunner will make his calculations, that a shell shall fall within a few feet of 
a given point, and burst at the precise time, though at a great distance. When a shell 
fails, it whirls round, burrows, and excavates the earth to a considerable extent, and 
bursting, makes dreadful havoc around. I have more than once witnessed fragments of 
the mangled bodies and limbs of the British soldiers thrown into the air by the bursting- 
of our shells, and by one from the enemy, Capt. White, of the seventh Massachusetts regi- 
ment, and one soldier were killed, and another wounded near where I was standing. About 
twelve or fourteen men have been killed or wounded within twenty-four hours; I at- 
tended at the hospital, amputated a man's arm, and assisted in dressing a number of 
wounds. The enemy having two redoubts, about three hundred yards in front of their 
principal works, which enfiladed our intrenchment and impeded our approaches, it was 
resolved to take possession of them both by assault. The one on the left of the British 
garrison, bordering on the banks of the river, was assigned to our brigade of light infant- 
ry, under the command of the Marquis de Lafayette. The advanced corps was led on 
by the intrepid Col. Hamilton, who had commanded a regiment of light infantry during 
the campaign, and assisted by Col. Gimat. The assault commenced at eight o'clock in 
the evening, and the assailants bravely entered the fort with the point of the bayonet 
without firing a single gun. We suffered the loss of eight men killed, and about thirty 
wounded, among whom Col. Gimat received a slight wound in his foot, and Major Gibbs, 
of his Excellency's guard, and two other officers, were slightly wounded. Major Camp- 
bell, who commanded in the fort, was wounded and taken prisoner, with about thirty 
soldiers ; the remainder made their escape. I was desired to visit the wounded in the 
fort, even before the balls had ceased whistling about my ears, and saw a sergeant and 
eight men dead in the ditch. A captain of our infantry, belonging to New Hampshire, 
threatened to take the life of Major Campbell, to avenge the death of his favorite, Col. 
Scammel, but Col. Hamilton interposed, and not a man was killed after he ceased to 
resist. During the assault, the British kept up an incessant firing of cannon and mus. 
ketry from their whole line. His Excellency Gen. Washington, Generals Lincoln and 
Knox, with their aids, having dismounted, were standing in an exposed situation waiting 
the result. Col. Cobb, one of Gen. Washington's aids, solicitous for his safety, said to 
his Excellency, " Sir, you are too much exposed here, had you not better step a little 
back ?" " Col. Cobb," replied his Excellency, " if you are afraid, you have liberty to 
step back." The other redoubt, on the right of the British lines, was assaulted at the 
same time, by a detachment of the French, commanded by the gallant Baron de Viomi- 
nel. Such was the ardor displayed by the assailants, that all resistance was soon ove-r- 



526 YORK COUNTY. 

come, though at the expense of nearly one hundred men killed and wounded.* Of 
the defenders of the redoubt, eighteen were killed, and one captain and two subaltern 
officers and forty-two rank and file captured. t Our second parallel line was immedi- 
ately connected with the two redoubts now taken from the enemy, and some new bat- 
teries were thrown up in front of our second parallel line, with a covert way, and angling 
work approaching to less than three hundred yards of their principal forts. These will 
soon be inantled with cannon and mortars, and when their horrid thundering commences, 
it must convince his lordship that his post is not invincible, and that submission must 
soon be his only alternative. Our artillerymen, by the exactness of their aim, make 
every discharge take effect, so that many of the enemy's guns are entirely silenced, and 
their works are almost in ruins. 

16fA. — A party of the enemy, consisting of about four hundred men, commanded by 
Col. Abercroinbie, about four in the morning, made a vigorous sortie against two unfin- 
ished redoubts occupied by the French ; they spiked up seven or eight pieces of cannon, 
and killed several soldiers, but the French advanced and drove them from the redoubts, 
leaving several killed and wounded. Our New England troops have now become very 
sickly ; the prevalent diseases are intermittent and remittent fevers, which are very prev- 
alent in this climate during the autumnal months. 

nth. — The whole of our works are now mounted with cannon and mortars, not less 
than one hundred pieces of heavy ordnance have been in continual operation during the 
last twenty-four hours. The whole peninsula trembles under the incessant thunderings 
of our infernal machines ; we have levelled some of their works in ruins and silenced 
their guns ; they have almost ceased firing. We are so near as to have a distinct view 
of the dreadful havoc and destruction of their works, and even see the men in their lines 
torn to pieces by the bursting of our shells. But the scene is drawing to a close. Lord 
Cornwallis, at length realizing the extreme hazard of his deplorable situation, and find- 
ing it in vain any longer to resist, has this morning come to the humiliating expedient 
of sending out a flag, requesting a cessation of hostilities for twenty.four hours, that 
commissioners may be appointed to prepare and adjust the terms of capitulation. Two 
or three flags passed in the course of the day, and Gen. Washington consented to a ces- 
sation of hostilities for two hours only, that his lordship may suggest his proposals as a 
basis for a treaty, which being in part accepted, a suspension of hostilities will be con- 
tinued till to-morrow. 

18th. — It is now ascertained that Lord Cornwallis, to avoid the necessity of a surren- 
der, had determined on the bold attempt to make his escape in the night of the 16th, 
with a part of his army, into the country. His plan was to leave sick and baggage be- 
hind, and to cross with his effective force over to Gloucester Point, there to destroy the 
French legion and other troops, and to mount his infantry on their horses and such oth- 
ers as might be procured, and thus push their way to New York by land. A more pre- 
posterous and desperate attempt can scarcely be imagined. Boats were secretly pre- 
pared, arrangements made, and a large proportion of his troops actually embarked and 
landed on Gloucester Point, when from a moderate and calm evening, a most violent 
storm of wind and rain ensued. The boats with the remaining troops were all driven 
down the river, and it was not till the next day that his troops could be returned to the 
garrison at York. At an early hour this forenoon, Gen. Washington communicated to 
Lord Cornwallis the general basis of the terms of capitulation, which he deemed admis- 



afced 

lUBtS, 



* The cause of the great loss sustafced by the French troops in comparison with that of the Ameri 
cans, in storming their respective redoirots, was that the American troops when they came to the abattis, 
removed a part of it with their hands, and leaped over the remainder. The French troops, on coming up 
to theirs, waited till their pioneers had cut away the abattis secundum artem, which exposed them longer 
to the galling fire of the enemy. To this cause also is to be ascribed the circumstance, that the redoubt 
assailed by the Americans was carried before that attacked by the French troops. The Marquis de La- 
fayette sent his aid. Major Barbour, through the tremendous fire of the whole line of the British, to in- 
form the Baron Viominel, that " he was in his redoubt, and to ask the Baron where he was." The ma- 
jor found the Baron waiting the clearing away the abattis, but sent this answer : " Tell the Marquis I am 
not in mine, but will be in five minutes." He instantly advanced, and was within or nearly so, within 
his time. 

t Gen. Dumas, in " The Memoirs of his own Time," republished in this country in 1839, says, in rela- 
tion to the attack on these redoubts, " I must here make mention of a circumstance which characterizes 
the courage of the French grenadiers. The grenadiers of the regiment of Gatinais, which had been 
formed out of that of Auvergne, were to lead the attack. The moment it was decided, I said to them, 
' My friends, if I should want you this night, I hope you have not forgotten we have served together in 
that brave regiment of Auvergne, " Sans Tache," an honorable name, which it has deserved ever since 
its creation.' They answered, if I promised to have their name restored to them, they would suflfer them- 
selves to be killed even to the last man. They kept their word, charged like lions, and lost one-third of 
their number. The king, on the report I made of this affair, signed the ordinance restoring to this regi- 
mentHhe name of RoyaJe Auvergne." 



YORK COUNTY. 527 

sible, and allowed two hours for his reply. Commissioners were soon after appointed to 
prepare the particular terms of agreement. The gentlemen appointed by Gen. Wash- 
ington are Col. Laurens, one of his aid-de-camps, and Viscount Noaille of the French 
army. They have this day held an interview with the two British officers on the part 
of Lord Cornwallis, the terms of capitulation are settled, and being confirmed by the 
commanders of both armies, the royal troops are to march out to-morrow and surrender 
their arms. It is a circumstance deserving of remark, that Col. Laurens, who is stipu- 
lating for the surrender of a British nobleman, at the head of a royal army, is the son of 
Mr. Henry Laurens, our ambassador to Holland, who being captured on his voyage, is 
now in close confinement in the tower of London. 

19th. — This is to us a most glorious day, but to the English one of bitter chagrin and 
disappointment. Preparations are now making to receive as captives, that vindictive, 
haughty commander, and that victorious army, who by their robberies and murders have 
so long been a scourge to our brethren of the southern states. Being on horseback, I 
anticipate a full share of satisfaction in viewing the various movements in the interesting 
scene. The stipulated terms of capitulation are similar to those granted to Gen. Lincoln 
at Charleston the last year. The captive troops are to march out with shouldered arms, 
colors cased, and drums beating a British or German march, and to ground their arms 
at a place assigned for the purpose. The officers are allowed their side-arms and private 
property, and the generals and such officers as desire it, are to go on parole to England 
or New York. The marines and seamen of the king's ships are prisoners of war to the 
navy of France, and the land forces to the United States. All military and artillery 
stores to be delivered up unimpaired. The royal prisoners to be sent into the interior of 
Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, in regiments, to have rations allowed them equal 
to the American soldiers, and to have their officers near them. Lord Cornwallis to man 
and dispatch the Bonetta sloop of war with dispatches to Sir Henry Clinton at New 
York, without being searched ; the vessel to be returned, and the hands accounted for. 
At about twelve o'clock, the combined army was arranged and drawn up in two lines 
extending more than a mile in length. The Americans were drawn up in a line on the 
right side of the road, and the French occupied the left. At the head of the former the 
great American commander, mounted on his noble courser, took his station, attended by 
his aids. At the head of the latter was posted the excellent Count Rochambeau and 
his suite. The French troops, in complete uniform, displayed a martial and noble ap. 
pearance ; their band of music, of which the timbrel formed a part, is a delightful nov- 
elty, and produced, while marching to the ground, a most enchanting effect. The Ameri- 
cans, though not all in uniform, nor their dress so neat, yet exhibited an erect soldierly 
air, and every countenance beamed with satisfaction and joy. The concourse of specta- 
tors from the country was prodigious, in point of numbers probably equal to the military ; 
but universal silence and order prevailed. It was about two o'clock when the captive 
prmy advanced through the line formed for their reception. Every eye was prepared to 
gaze on Lord Cornwallis, the object of peculiar interest and solicitude ; but he disap- 
pointed our anxious expectations ; pretending indisposition, he made Gen. O'Hara his 
substitute as the leader of his army. This officer was followed by the conquered troops 
in a slow and solemn step, with shouldered arms, colors cased, and drums beating a 
British march. Having arrived at the head of the line. Gen. O'Hara, elegantly 
mounted, advanced to his Excellency the commander-in-chief, taking off his hat, and 
apologized for the non-appearance of Earl Cornwallis. W^ith his usual dignity and po- 
liteness, his Excellency pointed to Major-General Lincoln for directions, by whom the 
British army was conducted into a spacious field where it was intended they should 
ground their arms. The royal troops, while marching through the line formed by the 
allied army, exhibited a decent and neat appearance, as respects arms and clothing, for 
their commander opened his store and directed every soldier to be furnished with a new 
suit complete, prior to the capitulation. But in their line of march we remarked a dis- 
orderly and unsoldierly conduct ; their step was irregular, and their ranks frequently bro- 
ken. But it was in the field, when they came to the last act of the drama, that the 
spirit and pride of the British soldier were put to the severest test — here their mortifica- 
tion could not be concealed. Some of the platoon officers appeared to be exceedingly 
chagrined when giving the word " ground arms," and I am witness that they performed 
this duty in a very unofficer-like manner, and that many of the soldiers manifested a 
sullen temper,* throwing their arms on the pile with violence, as if determined to render 

* Gen. Dumas says, "The garrison defiled between the two lines, beyond which I caused them to form 
in order of battle, and pile their arms. The English officers manifested the most bitter mortification, and 
[ remember that Col. Abercrombie of the English Guards — the same who afterwards iierished in Egypt 



528 rORK COUNTY. 

them useless. This irregularity, however, was checked by the authority of Gen. Lin- 
cohi. After having grounded their arms, and divested themselves of their accoutre- 
ments, the captive troops were conducted back to Yorktown, and guarded by our troops 
till they could be removed to the place of their destination. The British troops that were 
etationed at Gloucester surrendered at the same time, and in the same manner, to the 
command of the Duke de Luzerne. This must be a very interesting and gratifying 
transaction to Gen. Lincoln, who having himself been obliged to surrender an army to 
a haughty foe the last year, has now assigned him the pleasing duty of giving laws to 
a conquered army in return, and of reflecting that the terms which were imposed on him 
are adopted as a basis of ihe surrender in the present instance. It is a very gratifying 
circumstance that every degree of harmony, confidence, and friendly intercourse sub- 
sisted between the American and French troops during the campaign ; no contest except 
an emulous spirit to excel in exploits and enterprise against the common enemy, and a 
desire to be celebrated in the annals of history for an ardent love of great and heroic 
actions. We are not to be surprised that the pride of the British officers is humbled on 
this occasion, as they have always entertained an exalted opinion of their own military 
prowess, and affected to view the Americans as a contemptible, undisciplined rabble. 
But there is no display of magnanimity when a great commander shrinks from the in- 
evitable misfortunes of war ; and when it is considered that Lord Cornwaliis has fre- 
quently appeared in splendid triumph at the head of his army, by which he is almost 
adored, we conceive it incumbent on him cheerfully to participate in their misfortunes 
and degradations, however humiliating ; but it is said he gives himself up entirely to 
vexation and despair. 

20th. — In the general orders of this day our commander-in-chief expresses his entire 
approbation, and his warmest thanks to the French and American officers and soldiers 
of all descriptions, for the brave and honorable part which they have acted during the 
siege. He congratulates the combined army on the momentous event which closes the 
campaign, and which crowns their heads with unfading laurels, and entitles them to the 
applause and gratitude of their country. Among the general officers whom his Excel- 
lency particularly noticed, for the important services which they rendered during the 
siege, are Generals Lincoln, de Lafayette, Steuben, Knox, and Du Portail, his Excellency 
Count Rochambeau, and several other distinguished French officers. To Gov. Nelson, 
of Virginia, he returned his grateful and sincere acknowledgments for the essential suc- 
cors afforded by him and the militia under his command. The commander-in-chief, 
wishing that every heart should participate in the joy of this memorable day, ordered 
that all those who are under arrest or confinement should be immediately pardoned and 
set at liberty, a circumstance which I believe has never before occurred in our army. 
He closed by ordering that divine service shall be performed in the several brigades to- 
morrow, and recommends that the troops attend with a serious deportment, and with 
that sensibility of heart which the recollection of the surprising and particular interposi- 
tion of Providence in our favor claims. 

22d. — Yesterday being Sunday, our brigade of infantry, and the York brigade were 
drawn up in the field to attend divine service performed by Mr. Evans. After offering 
to the Lord of hosts, the God of battles, our grateful homage for the preservation of our 
lives through the dangers of the siege, and for the important event with which Divine 
Providence has seen fit to crown our efforts, he preached an excellent and appropriate 
sermon. Generals Lincoln and Clinton were present. In the design and execution of 
this successful expedition, our commander-in-chief fairly outgeneraLled Sir Henry Clin- 
ton, and the whole movement was marked by consummate military address, which re- 
duced the royal general to a mortifying dilemma that no skill or enterprise could retrieve. 
A siege of thirteen days, prosecuted with unexampled rapidity, has terminated in the 
capture of one of the greatest generals of which the English can boast, and a veteran 
and victorious army which has for several mon*hs past spread terror and desolation 
throughout the southern states. The joy on this momentous occasion is universally dif- 
fused, and the hope entertained that it will arrest the career of a cruel warfare, and 
advance the establishment of American Independence. In the progress of the royal 
army through the state of Virginia the preceding summer, they practised the most abomi- 
nable enormities, plundering negroes and horses from almost every plantation, and reduc- 
ing the country to ruin. Among the prodigious assemblage of spectators at the time of 
surrender, were a number of planters searching for the property which had been thus 
purloined from their estates. The famous Col Tarleton, mounted o n a horse remarkable 

on the field of battle where he had just triumphed— at the moment when his troops laid down their arras, 
withdrew rapidly, covering his face, and biting his sword.'" 



YORK COUNTY. 529 

for elegance and noble appearance, while riding in company with several French officers 
with whom he was to dine, was met by a gentleman, who instantly recognised the ani- 
mal as his own property. Tarleton was stopped, and the horse peremptorily demanded ; 
observing a little hesitation, the British General O'Hara, who was present, said, " You 
had better give him his horse, Tarleton," on which the colonel dismounted and delivered 
the horse to the original proprietor ; after which, being remounted on a very miserable 
animal, he rejoined his company, and the French officers were greatly surprised that he 
should be so humbly mounted. The British prisoners were all sent off yesterday, con- 
ducted by a party of militia on their way to the interior of Virginia and Maryland. I 
have this day visited the town of York, to witness the destructive effects of the siege. 
It contains about sixty houses, some of them are elegant ; many of them are greatly dam- 
aged, and some totally ruined, being shot through in a thousand places, and honey- 
combed ready to crumble to pieces. Rich furniture and books were scattered over the 
ground, and the carcasses of men and horses half covered with earth, exhibited a scene 
of ruin and horror beyond description. The earth in many places is thrown up into 
mounds by the force of our shells, and it is difficult to point to a spot where a man could 
have resorted for safety. 

The loss on the part of the French during the siege, was fifty killed and one hundred 
and twenty. seven wounded. Americans twenty-seven killed and seventy-three wounded, 
officers included. Cornwallis' account of his loss during the siege is one hundred and 
fifty-six, three hundred and twenty-six wounded, and seventy missing, probably de- 
serted, total five hundred and fifty-two. The whole number surrendered by capitulation, 
seven thousand two hundred and forty-seven.* The amount of artillery and military 
stores, provisions, &c., is very considerable ; seventy-five brass and one hundred and 
sixty-nine iron cannon, seven thousand seven hundred and ninety-four muskets ; regi- 
mental standards, German eighteen, British ten. From the military chest we received 
two thousand one hundred and thirteen pounds six shillings sterling. 



Dr. Thatcher, in the preceding account, has made mention of 
Dr. yEneas Munson, who was with him at the siege, in the ca- 
pacity of surgeon's mate. From the lips of this gentleman, now 
living, we have derived the following : 

Col. Scammel was the highest officer in rank in the American army, killed at the 
siege. He was shot after he had surrendered, by two Hessian horsemen, and was 
buried at Williamsburg, The annexed lines, forming part of his epitaph, were written 
by Col. Humphreys : 

What tho' no friend could ward thine early fall, 
Nor guardian angels turn the treacherous ball, 
Bless'd shade, be sooth'd I thy virtues all are known. 
Thy fame shall last beyond this mould'ring stone, 
Which conquering armies, from their toils return'd. 
Rear to thy glory, while thy fate they mourn'd. 

During the siege almost all the Americans had the fever and ague. The dews were 
very heavy, and wet through the tents. The soldiers were divided into two divisions, 
and on alternate nights slept in the trenches in the open air. 

On the attack of the two advanced redoubts of the British, on the night of the 15th, 
in a great measure depended the result of the siege. Washington, surrounded by a 
group of officers, among whom was our informant, stood in the grand battery looking 
through the embrasures, while the two divisions of the attacking party advanced to the 
assault. Col. Alexander Hamilton led on the Americans, with empty muskets and fixed 
bayonets. When he arrived at the right redoubt, which he was to attack, he made a 
short but eloquent address, which was distinctly heard by the silent but deeply-interested 
witnesses in the grand battery. " Did you ever hear such a speech?" remarked Lieut. 
D. to Dr. M. ; " with such a speech I could storm — — ." Shortly after, the French 
officer arrived with his division before the other redoubt, when he was challenged by the 
sentinel : 

Sentinel. — " Who comes there ?" 

French officer. — " French." 

Sentinel — mistakes it for " friend," and again demands, " Who comes there ?" 

* Another list which has been published, makes their total loss by death and capture to be eleven 
thousand eight hundred, including two thousand sailors, one thousand eight hundred negroes, one thou- 
sand five hundred toiies, eighty vessels large and small. 

67 



A 



530 



YORK COUNTV. 



French officer. — " French Grenadiers and Chasseurs, s-h-a-r-g-e ! s-h-a-r-g-e ! 
S-H-A-R-G-E !" 

The word " charge" was drawled out with so much deliberation, and with such im- 
perfect pronunciation, as to excite hearty laughter from the witnesses in the grand bat- 
tery. The clash of bayonets succeeded, and the next morning the trench was seen filled 
five or six feet deep with the bodies of the gallant Frenchmen. 

While the attack was progressing, a musket-ball rolled along a cannon, and fell at 
the feet of Washington. Gen. Knox seized him by the arm, and exclaimed, " My dear 
general, we can't spare you yet !" Washington replied, " It is a spent ball, and no harm 
is done." When it was all over, and the redoubts in possession of the two parties, Wash- 
ing turned to Knox and said, " The work is done, and well done " and then exclaimed 
to his servant, •' William, hand me my horse." 




The Moore House, Yorktown. 

The first night the American army reposed after the investment 
of Yorktown, Washington slept in the open air under a mulberry 
tree, the root forming his pillow. Cornwallis's head-quarters were 
originally in a splendid brick house, belonging to Secretary Nelson, 
(see p. 295,) the ruins of which are now visible in the large and 
continuous redoubt constructed by the British at the e. end of the 
town. He remained there until a servant vras killed, and the 
building much injured by the American artillery, when he removed 
into the town. Fifty or sixty yards from this dwelling, on the hill- 
side at the lower end of the redoubt, he had a cave excavated in 
the earth. It was hung with green baize, and used solely for 
holding councils of war. There is a cave in the solid mass of 
stone marl which forms the river bank, improperly called Corn- 
wallis's cave. This was used for a sutlery ; it is now a piggery. 
The Moore House, on Temple Farm, is yet standing on the banks 
of the river, about a mile below Yorktown. It is memorable as 
being the dwelling where the articles of capitulation were signed 
by Lord Cornwallis : it was then the property of a widow Moore. 



..^'.'y.. 



YORK COUNTY. 



531 



The place of surrender was about half a mile from the e. limits 
of the town, on the s. side of the road to Hampton. 

The frontispiece to this volume, representing the Surrender of 
Cornwallis at Yorktown, is copied from the painting of Col. John 
Trumbull. It is a faithful copy of the original, and the portraits 
and minor details are imitated with accuracy. Col. Trumbull, 
who died in 1843, was the son of Gov. Trumbull of Connecticut, 
and one of Washington's aid-de-camps in 1775, and in 1776 the 
deputy adjutant-general of the northern department, under the 
command of Major-Gen. Gates. He retired from the service in 
1777, and afterwards became the great historical painter of the 
revolution. This was one of his series of pictures in commemora- 
tion of the principal events of the revolution, in which series he 
preserved, as far as possible, faithful portraits of its conspicuous 
actors, with accurate details of dress, manners, arms, «Sz;c., of the 
times. In the prosecution of his plan he was encouraged by John 
Adams and Thomas Jefferson, whose friendship he enjoyed. The 
portraits of the French officers he painted in 1787, at the house 
of Mr. Jefferson, in Paris. In 1791 he visited Yorktown, and 
made the drawing of the place of surrender. 

Explanation of the Engraving.— The scene represents the mo- 
ment when the principal officers of the British array, conducted 
by Gen. Lincoln, are passing the two groups of American and 
French officers, and entering between the two lines of victors. 
By this means the principal officers of the three nations are brought 
near together, so as to admit of distinct portraits. In the centre of 
the view, in the distance, is seen the entrance of the town, with 
the captured troops marching out, following their officers ; and 
also a distant glimpse of York River, and the entrance of the 
Chesapeake Bay, as seen from the spot. 

The prominent figure on horseback in the centre, is Gen. Lin- 
coln, by whose side stands the British general, O'Hara. Wash- 
ington, on horseback, is a little in the rear and on the left of Gen. 
Lincoln. Count Rochambeau, the French general, is on horseback 
at the end of the line of French officers, and on the right and 
back of Gen. O'Hara. On the reader's right, the four American 
officers on foot are, respectively — commencing with the one near- 
est the margin— Col. Nicholas Fish, New York ; Col. Walter Stu- 
art, Phila. ; Col. John Laurens, S. Carolina ; and Col. Alexander 
Hamilton, commander of light-infantry. On the reader's right, 
those on horseback — commencing with the figure nearest the mar- 
gin — are, respectively. Col. Timothy Pickering, Lieut.-Col. E. Hunt- 
ington, aid to Lincoln ; Maj.-Gen. Knox, commander of artillery ; 
Gen. Peter Muhlenburg, Virginia ; Gen. Hand, adjutant-general, 
Pennsylvania ; Gen. Anthony Wayne, Maryland ; Gen. Gist, Mary- 
land ; Major-Gen. James Clinton, New Toirkf Col. Trumbull, sec- 
retary to Washington; Col. Cobb, aid to Washington; Baron 
Steuben ; Lafayette ; and Gov. Nelson, of Virginia. In the dis- 
tance, the small figure on horseback, beyond some of the cannon, 



532 YORK COUNTY. 

is Col. Ebenezer Stevens, of the American artillery. Those drawn 
up on the left side of the reader, are the French officers. The 
three first on foot — commencing with the one nearest the margin — 
are Count Deuxponts, colonel of French infantry ; Duke de Laval 
Montmorency, colonel of do. ; and Count Custine, colonel of do. 
The first figure on horseback, (who has a plume in his cap,) is the 
Duke de Lauzun, col. of cavalry ; and those next in order, as fol- 
lows — Gen. Choizy ; Viscount Viomenil ; Marquis de St. Simon ; 
Count Fersen, aid to Rochambeau ; Count Charles Dumas, aid to 
do. ; Marquis Chastellux ; Baron Viomenil ; Count de Barras, ad- 
miral ; and Count de Grasse, admiral. 



ADDENDA. 

Since the first edition of this work was put to press, the following counties have been 
created : — 

Appomattox was formed Feb. 8th, 1845, from parts of Prince Edward, Charlotte, and 
Campbell. 

Doddridge was formed Feb. 4th, 1845, from Harrison, Tyler, Ritchie, and Lewis. 

Gilmer was formed Feb. 3d, 1845, from parts of Lewis and Kanawha. 



K 



533 



HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

The District of Columbia* was ceded to the United States in 
1790, by the states of Virginia and Maryland, and in 1800 the seat 
of government was removed here from Philadelphia. Its site was 
selected by George Washington, by authority from Congress, after 
great research and observation, to become the metropolis of this 
republic. It forms an exact square of 10 miles on a side, lying 
upon both banks of the Potomac. The location being determined 
upon, the first stone to mark its boundary was set in Jones's Point, 
the uppermost cape of Hunting creek, April 15, 1791, in the pres- 
ence of a large concourse of spectators. 

The District is divided into two counties. Washington county 
is on the n. side of the Potomac, and includes Washington city and 
Georgetown. Alexandria county is on the s. side of the Potomac, 
and has the city of Alexandria. In the former, the laws of Mary- 
land continue in force ; in the latter, those of Virginia. The 
District has never been represented in the Congress of the United 
States. Congress, however, makes what laws it pleases for both, 
which meets annually on the first Monday of December, unless 
otherwise provided by law. 

The surface of the District is gently undulating, furnishing fine 
sites for cities. The soil is naturally sterile, but it possesses a fine, 
healthy climate. This District has become the centre of a consid- 
erable and active commerce, though it cannot at all compete with 
Baltimore, in its vicinity. Vessels of the largest class come up to 
Alexandria, 6 miles below Washington, where the Potomac is a 
mile wide, and from 30 to 50 feet deep ; and vessels of a large 
size come up to the U. S. Navy Yard, at the junction of the East 
Branch with the Potomac, at Washington. A very considerable 
quantity of flour, and other produce, comes down the Potomac, 
and centres chiefly at Alexandria, and some at Georgetown. The 
chief business of Washington city has relation to the accommo- 
dation of the national legislature, and of the officers of the general 
government. In 1800, the population was 14,093; in 1810. 24,023; 
in 1820, 33,039; in 1830, 39,858; in 1840,43,712, of which 30,657 
were whites, 8,361 were free colored persons, and 4,694 were slaves. 

The valley at the foot of Capitol Hill, washed by the Tiber creek, 
it is stated on the authority of some of the early settlers, was pe- 
riodically visited by the Indians, who named it their fishing-ground, 

* We are indebted to Sherman and Smith's valuable Gazetteer of the United States 
for much infonnation respecting the District. 



534 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

in contradistinction to their hunting-ground ; and that they assem- 
bled there in great numbers in the spring months to procure jSsh. 
Greenlief's Point was the principal camp, and the residence of 
their chiefs, where councils were held among the various tribes 
thus gathered there. The coincidence of the location of the 
national legislatures so near the council-house of an Indian nation, 
cannot fail to excite interesting reflections in intelligent minds. 
It is highly probable that Washington was acquainted with this 
tradition. 

Washington City, the capital of the United States, is situated on 
the E. side of the Potomac, 295 miles from the ocean, by the course 
of the river and bay. It is 38 miles sw. from Baltimore ; 1 36 from 
Philadelphia ; 225 from New York ; 432 from Boston ; 856 from 
St. Louis ; 544 from Charleston, S. C. ; 662 from Savannah, Ga. ; 
1,203 from New Orleans. The population in 1800, was 3,210 ; 
in 1810, 8,208; in 1820, 13,247; in 1830, 18,827; in 1840, 23,364; 
in 1844, 30,429. Employed in commerce, 103 ; in manufactures 
and trades, 886 ; navigating the ocean, 45 ; do. rivers and canals, 
25 ; learned professions. 83. 

The city stands on a point of land between the Potomac and the 
Anacostia or Eastern branch. It contains a little over 8 square 
miles, and upwards of 5,000 acres. The ground is, in general, 
about 40 feet above the level of the river, and there are some 
moderate elevations, on two of which stand the Capitol and the 
President's house. The city is regularly laid out in streets running 
north and south, and crossed by others at right angles, running 
east and west. But the different parts of the city are connected 
by broad avenues, which traverse the rectangular divisions diagon- 
ally. Where the intersection of these avenues with each other 
and with the streets w^ould form many acute angles, considerable 
rectangular or circular open grounds are left, which, when the city 
shall be built up, will give it an open appearance. The avenues 
and streets leading to public places are from 120 to 160 feet wide, 
and the other streets are from 70 to 110 feet wide. The avenues 
are named after the states of the Union, and the other streets, 
beginning at the capitol, are denoted by the letters of the alphabet, 
as A. north and A. south, B. north and B. south, &c. ; and east and 
west, they are designated by numbers, as 1st east, 1st west, &;c. 
Pennsylvania avenue, between the capitol and the president's 
house, contains the most dense population, and is much the finest 
street in the city. Five of the avenues radiate from the capitol, 
and five others from the president's house, giving these promi- 
nent places the most ready communication with all parts of 
the city. The buildings of Washington consist of scattered clus- 
ters ; nor is it probable that the magnificent plan of the city vvill 
soon be built up, although it has greatly increased within the last 
few years. Three things are requisite to sustain a large city, one 
of which, it is to be hoped, will never be found in the United States. 
There must be extensive commerce, or manufactures, or an expen- 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



535 



sive and luxurious court, with the multitudes which a luxurious 
court draws around it, to expend their money. This last constitutes 
a great item in the support of some European cities. Washington 
cannot be expected to become a very great commercial or manu- 
facturing place ; and though the chief men of the government, 
and the national legislature, and the multitudes whom they draw 
around them, do much towards the prosperity of Washington, the 
money thus expended is too small in amount to constitute a main 
reliance of a large city. Baltimore, in the vicinity, will be likely 
to surpass Washington in commerce and manufactures, for a long 
time to come. The growth of Washington, however, has been 
considerably extensive, and it is continually increasing ; and 
probably the bustle of a large city would not much improve it as 
a seat for the national congress. It enjoys the two important 
requisites for health, pure air and good water ; and there is much 
elegant and refined society, rendering it a pleasant place of resi- 
dence. 




The Capitol at Washington. 

The public buildings of Washington have a splendor becoming 
a great nation. The Capitol is probably the finest senate-house in 
the world, and it is fit that the most august legislative assembly 
on earth should be thus accommodated. The ground on which 
the capitol stands is elevated 73 feet above the level of the tide, 
and affords a commanding view of the different parts of the city, 
and of the surrounding country. The building, which is of free- 
stone, covers an area of more than an acre and a half ; the length 
of the front is 352 feet, including the M'ings ; the depth of the 
wings is 121 feet. The centre building is surmounted by a lofty 
dome ; and there are 2 less elevated domes, one towards each end. 
A projection on the east or main front, including the steps, is 65 
feet wide ; and another on the west front, with the steps, is 83 feet 
wide. In the projection on the east front, there is a noble portico 
of 22 lofty Corinthian columns ; and in the west front there is a 
portico of 10 Corinthian columns. The height of the building to 
the top of the dome is 120 feet. Under the dome in the middle of 



536 DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA. 

the building is the rotunda, a circular room 95 feet in diameter, 
and of the same height, adorned with sculptures, representing in 
relief Smith delivered by Pocahontas, the Pilgrims landing at Ply- 
mouth, Penn treating with the natives, and a fight of Boone with 
the Indians ; and 4 magnificent paintings by Trumbull, with figures 
as large as life, representing the presentation to Congress of the 
Declaration of Independence, the capture of Burgoyne, the surren- 
der of Cornwallis, and Washington resigning his commission to 
Congress. Another painting, the baptism of Pocahontas, by 
Chapman, has recently been added. The rotunda has recently 
received a splendid additional ornament in Greenough's statue of 
Washington, a colossal figure in a sitting posture, twice as large 
as life. On the west of the rotunda is the library-room of Con- 
gress, 92 feet by 34, and is 36 feet in height, containing, in arched 
alcoves, 20,000 volumes. In the second story of the south wing 
of the capitol, is the hall of the House of Representatives, of a 
semicircular form, 96 feet long and 60 high, with a dome sup- 
ported by 24 beautiful columns of variegated marble from the 
Potomac, with capitals of Italian marble, of the Corinthian order. 
The circular wall is surrounded by a gallery for men, and the 
chord of the arc, back of the speaker's chair, has a gallery for the 
ladies. The room is ornamented with some fine statuary and paint- 
ings, and the whole furniture of it is elegant. The Senate cham- 
ber is in the second story of the north wing of the capitol, and is 
semicircular like that of the Representatives, but smaller, being 
75 feet long and 45 feet high. The vice-president's chair is cano- 
pied by a rich crimson drapery, held by the talons of a hovering 
eagle. A gallery of light bronze running round the arc in front 
of the vice-president's chair, is mainly appropriated to ladies. 
There is another gallery above and behind the chair, supported by 
fine Ionic columns of variegated marble. A magnificent chande- 
lier hangs in the centre of the room, and the whole appearance 
and furniture of the room are splendid. Below the Senate cham- 
ber, and of nearly the same form and dimensions, but much less 
elegant, is the room of the Supreme Court of the United States ; 
and there are in the building 70 rooms for the accommodation of 
committees and officers of Congress. The grounds around the 
capitol are spacious, containing 22 acres, highly ornamented with 
gravelled walks, shrubbery, and trees, a naval monument orna- 
mented with statuary, and fountains, and the whole is enclosed by 
a handsome iron railing. The whole cost of the building has 
exceeded $2,000,000. 

The President's house, a mile and a half nw. from the Capitol, 
is an elegant edifice of freestone, 2 stories high, with a lofty base- 
ment, and is 170 feet long, and 86 wide, the n. front of which is 
ornamented with a fine portico of 4 lofty Ionic columns, projecting 
with 3 columns. The outer intercolumniation is for carriages to 
drive under, to place company under shelter. It stands in the cen- 
tre of a plat of ground of 20 acres, beautifully laid out and highly 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



537 



ornamented. It is elevated 44 feet above tide-water, and the 
southern front presents a grand and beautiful prospect. The apart- 
ments within are admirably fitted to their purpose, and splendidly 




U. S. Treasury, Washington. 

furnished. On the e. side of the President's house are two large 
buildings, and on the w. side two large buildings for the depart- 
ments of State, of the Treasury, of War, and of the Navy. The 
General Post-Office and the Patent-Office are also extensive build- 




The General Post-Office, Washington. 

ings. These, with the new Treasury building, have been recently 
erected, to supply the place of those which were burned a few 
years since. The new Treasury building contains 150 rooms, and 
when completed, will contain 250. It has a splendid colonnade, 
457 feet in length. The General Post-Office contains about 80 

68 



538 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



rooms, and is of the Corinthian order, with columns and pilasters, 
on a rustic base. The Patent-Office, in addition to other spacious 
apartments, has one room in the upper story 275 feet by 65, and 
when completed by wings, according to the original design, will 




The Patent-Office, Washington. 

be upwards of 400 feet in length. It is considered one of the most 
splendid rooms in America, and is devoted to the grand and in- 
creasing collections of the national institution. The portico of 
this building is of the same extent as that of the Parthenon, at 
Athens, consisting of 16 columns, in double rows, 50 feet high. In 
the war-office was formerly kept the fine collection of Indian por- 
traits, painted from the original heads by King. These valuable 
pictures are now in the custody, and adorn the collections of the 
national institution, in the patent-office. 

The Navy Yard is on the Eastern branch, about three-fourths of 
a mile se. of the Capitol, and contains 27 acres. It has houses for 
the officers, and shops and warehouses, and 2 large ship-houses, a 
neat armory, and every kind of naval stores. Several ships of 
war, some of which were of the largest class, have been built at 
this yard. There are also in the city an Arsenal, a City Hall, an 
Hospital, a Penitentiary, a Theatre, &c. 

Washington is separated from Georgetown by Rock creek, over 
which are 2 bridges. A substantial pile bridge, over a mile in 
length, crosses the Potomac, and leads to Alexandria. There is a 
bridge, also, over the Anacostia, or Eastern branch. This river 
has water of sufficient depth for frigates to ascend to the navy 
yard, without being lightened. Vessels requiring 14 feet of water 
can come up to the Potomac bridge. By means of the Chesapeake 
and Ohio canal, a communication is opened with a rich back coun- 
try; and it may be expected that the commerce of Washington 
will increase. The Washington canal is a continuation of this 
canal through the city. It extends from the Chesapeake and Ohio 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 539 

canal, at 17th street, west, to which it is connected by a lock at 
that street, to the Eastern branch. The canal and all the basins are 
walled with stone on both sides. From 17th to 14th street, is a 
spacious basin, 500 feet wide ; from 14th to 6th street, where there 
is another ample basin, its width is 150 feet ; and from 6th street 
to its termination in the Eastern branch, its width varies from 45 
to 80 feet ; and its depth is 4 feet below tide throughout. At its 
eastern termination is another spacious basin and wharf, which 
extends to the channel. This canal has been greatly neglected, 
and is much out of repair. The expense of this canal has been 
over $230,000. 

There were in the city in 1840, 106 stores, cap. $926,040 ; 6 lum- 
ber yards, cap. $57,000 ; precious metals manufactured to the 
amount of $13,000; various other metals $17,300; 2 tanneries, 
cap. $2,000 ; 1 brewery, cap. $63,000 ; 2 potteries, cap. $3,250 ; 1 
rope walk, 1 grist m., 11 printing offices, 9 binderies, 3 daily, 5 
weekly, 5 semi-weekly newspapers, and 3 periodicals, cap. $149,500 ; 
30 brick and stone, and 23 wooden houses built, cost $86,910. To- 
tal cap. in manufac. $336,275. 

The Columbian College was incorporated by an act of Congress 
in 1821. It is delightfully situated on elevated ground n. of the 
President's house, about two and a half miles from the Capitol. 
The buildings are a college edifice, 5 stories high, including the 
basement and the attic, having 48 rooms for students, with 2 dor- 
mitories attached to each, 2 dwelling-houses for professors, and a 
philosophical hall, all of brick. It has a medical department at- 
tached. The Medical College is situated at the corner of 10th and 
E streets, at equal distances from the Capitol and the President's 
house. In the several departments are a president, 10 professors, 
and in the college proper, about 25 students. There are about 
4,200 books in its libraries. The commencement is on the first 
Wednesday of October. The whole number of alumni is 97. It 
is under the direction of the Baptists. 

There were in the city in 1840, 12 academies, with 609 students, 
9 primary and common schools, with 380 scholars. 

The National Institution for the Promotion of Science, was or- 
ganized in May, 1840. The President of the United States is 
patron ; the heads of departments constitute 6 directors on the part 
of the government, and 6 literary and scientific gentlemen are di- 
rectors on the part of the institution. Its stated monthly meetings 
are held in the patent-office building. Its collections are deposited 
in the grand hall of this building, 275 feet long, and 65 feet wide, 
and constitute a rapidly increasing scientific museum. The United 
States exploring expedition has added largely to its curiosities. 
The Historical Society and the Columbian Institute have united 
with it, with their libraries and collections. They have a valuable 
mineralogical cabinet. It is proposed to bring out regularly vol- 
umes of transactions. If properly fostered, it may become an 
honor to the nation. The Union Literary Society has been in exist- 



540 DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA. 

ence for many years, and holds a weekly discussion in the lecture 
room of the medical college, and is well attended. Sectarian re- 
ligion and party politics are excluded from its discussions. The 
City Library contains about 6,000 volumes. 

The city contains 25 places of worship, of which the Presby- 
terians have 4, the Episcopalians 5, the Baptists 3, the Methodists 
3, Protestant do. 1, Roman Catholics 3, the Africans 2, and the 
Unitarians and Friends 1 each and the Luthrans 2. 

There are 2 orphan asylums. There are 3 banks, with an ag- 
gregate capital of f 1,500,000; and 2 insurance companies, with an 
aggregate capital of $450,000. 

This city was fixed on as the future seat of the government in 
accordance with the suggestion of the great man whose name it 
bears, and the ground on which it stands was ceded to the United 
Sttttes in December, 1788. The owners of the land gave one half 
of it, after deducting streets and public squares, to the United 
States to defray the expenses of the public buildings. Such 
grounds as should be wanted by the United States was to be paid 
for at the rate of $66 66 cents per acre. It was laid out by 3 
commissioners, in 1791, and surveyed under the direction of An- 
drew Ellicot. The seat of the federal government was removed 
to this place in 1800. The north wing of the Capitol was com- 
menced in 1793, and finished in 1800, at an expense of $480,202. 
The south wing was commenced in 1803, and finished in 1808, at 
an expense of $308,808. The centre building was commenced in 
1818, and finished in 1827, at an expense of $957,647. In August, 

1814, Washington was captured by the British, under Gen. Ross, 
who set fire to the Capitol, the President's house, and the public 
offices, with the exception of the patent-office, which was saved 
by the solicitation of its superintendent. The library of Congress 
was burned, and was afterwards replaced by the purchase of that 
of Mr. Jefferson, consisting of 7,000 volumes, for $23,000, in 

1815. ^ 

The congressional burial-ground is in the eastern section of 
Washington, about a mile and a half from the Capitol, and con- 
tains about 10 acres of ground, near the Eastern branch. The 
grounds are tastefully laid out and neatly kept. It has already 
received a number of distinguished men, and has some fine monu- 
ments, and a vault in which bodies are placed that are awaiting a 
removal. 

The following are inscriptions from monuments in this yard. 
Those in columns are members of Congress, and include those 
interred up to the year 1841 : 

Sacred to the memory of Philip Pendleton Barbour, associate-justice of the Supreme Court of the 
United States, who was born in Orange county, Virginia, on the 25th of May, 1783, intermarried wilti 
Frances Todd Johnson, on the 4th of October, 1804, and died at Washington city on the 24th of Febru 
ary, 1841. 



This monument is erected by order of his majesty Frederlclc William III., king of Prussia, to the mem- 
ory of his resident minister in the United States, the Chevalier Frederick Greuhm, who departed this 
life on the Ist of December, 1823, in the 53d year of his age. 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



541 



Sacred to the memory of Gen. Jacob Brown. ... He was born in Bucks co., Pennsylvania, on 
the nth of May, 1775, and died at the city of Washington, commanding general of the army, on the 34th 
of February, 1828. 

Let him who e'er in after days 

Shall view this monument of praise, 

For honor heave the patriot sigh, 

And for his country learn to die. 



Joseph Lovkll, late surgeon-general of the army of the United States, born in Boston, Massachu- 
setts, Dec. 22, 1788 ; died in the city of Washington, October 17, 1836. 



PusH-MA-TA-HA, a Choctaw chief, lies here. This monument to his memory is erected by his brother 
chiefs, who were associated with him in a delegation from their nation, in the year 1824, to the general 
government of the United States. He died in Washington, on the 24th of December, 1824, of the croup, 
in the COth year of his age. Push-ma-ta-ha was a warrior of great distinction. He was wise in coim- 
cil, eloquent in an extraordinary degree, and on all occasions, and under all circumstances, the white 
•man's friend. Among his last words were the following: " TVhen I am gone let the biff guns be fired 
ever mc." 



Beneath this monument rest the mortal remains of Hugh George Campbell, late a captain in the 
navy of the United States. He was a native of the state of South Carolina. In the year 1775, he en- 
tered as a volunteer on board the first vessel of war commissioned by the council of his native state. 
He served his country upwards of 22 years as a commander, and died in this city on the 11th day of 
November, 1820, aged about 60 years. 



Here lie the remains of Tobias Lear. He was early distinguished as the private secretary and 
familiar friend of the illustrious Washington ; and after having served his country with dignity, zeal, 
and fidelity, in many honorable stations, died accountant of the war department, 11th October, 1816, aged 
54. His desolate widow and mourning son have erected this monument, to mark the place of his abode 
in the city of silence. 



Wlicre from. Date of 
N. J., Jan. 28, 
Conn., 
R. I., 

N. C, 
Mass., 

N. C, 



July 19, 
June 4, 
Feb. 7, 
Feb. 22, 
April 9, 
Dec. 31, 
March 1, 
Dec. 17, 
Dec. 20, 
Doc. 26, 
Dec. 12, 
Feb. 25, 
Feb. 29, 
Feb. 26, 
Mar. 14, 
April 17, 
Feb. 26, 



J^ame. 
-^ Ezra Darby, rep. 

— Uriah Tracy, sen. 
._ Francis Malbone, sen. 

Thomas Blount, rep. 
Elijah Brigham, rep. 
Richard Stanford, rep. 

— George Mumford, rep. 

- David Walker, rep. 
Nathaniel Hazard, rep. 

.Jesse Slocumb, rep. 

James Burrill, Jr., sen. 
_,Wm. A. Trimble, sen. 
, Wm. Pinkney, sen. 
<=~VVm. L. Ball, rep. 

- John Gaillard, sen. 
-Chris. Rankin, rep. 
.Alexander Smyth, rep. 

_James Noble, sen. 
Chas. C. Johnson, rep. 
Jonathan Hunt, rep. 
Geo. E. Mitchell, rep. 
James Jones, rep. 
_, Levi Casey, rep. 
—Philip Doddridge, rep. 
■'James Lent, rep. 
Thos. T. Bouldin, rep. 
James Blair, rep. 
Litt'n P. Dennis, rep. 
^ Warren R. Davis, rep. S. C, 
« Nathan Smith, sen. Conn., 
» Jonathan Cilley, rep. Me., 
»lsaac IMcKim, rep. Md., 

• Timothy J. Carter, rep. Me., 
Th. D. Singleton, rep. S. C, 
—fledge Thompson, rep. N. J., 
-— Theodorick Bland, rep. Va., 

George Holcomb, rep. N. J., 

% Joab Lawler, rep. Ala.,* May 8, 

..-Nais'thy Hunter, del. Miss., March 1, 

James Gillespie, rep. N. C, Jan. 10, 

, Jeremiah McLene, rep. O., March 19, 



Ky., 
R. I., 

N. C, 

R. I., 

O., 

Md., 

Va., 

S. C, 

Miss., 

Va., 

la., 

Va., 

" May 15, 
Md., June 28, 
Ga., Jan. 11, 



dec. Jlge. A''ame. Where from. Date of dec. J}ge. 

1808r-38.~ Rich'd J. Manning, rep. S. C, May 1, 1830. ' 
1807, 52.- iZalmon Wildman, rep. ' ~ ' '" 

1809,-50.- »Elias K. Kane, sen. . 
1812, 52r -«. W. Habersham, rep. 
1816, 64. Jas. W. Williams, rep. 

•Alb. G. Harrison, rep. 

^-Wm. Lowndes, rep. 

•Wm. W. Porter, rep. 

-Davis Dimock, Jr., rep. 
Nathan F. Dixon, sen. 



1816, 48. 
1818. - 
1820.-' 
1820, 47. 
1820, 40. 
1820, 48. 



Ct., 
III., 
Ga., 
Md., 
. Mo., 
S. C, 
Pa., 



R. I., 

-Sam'l L. Southard, sen. N. J., 
" " Pa., 



S. C, 

Va., 

N. Y., 

Va., 

S. C, 
Md., 



Feb. 3, 
Nov. 19, 
Feb. 22, 
Feb. 11, 
April 1, 
April 14, 

Dec. 6, 
Feb. 24, 
April 1, 
March 14, 
Dec, 
July 23,. 
June 13, 
Dec. 4, 



1821, 35. .-Joseph Lawrence, rep 

1822, 58.- .Wm. S. Ramsey, rep. 
1824, 43." -iewis Williams, rep. N. C, 
1826, 60. tCharles Ogle, rep. Pa., 
1826, 38. 4 Henry Black, rep. 

1830.- 'John Cotfee, rep. Ga., 

1831r 48. — Benj. F. Deraing, rep. Vt., 
- 37. -Henry Wilson, rep. Pa., 

1832. , Charles Slade, rep. III., 

1832. Gabriel Holmes, rep. N. C. 

18U1, 32. Thomas Hartley, rep. Pa., 
1807r.54. Daniel Hiester, rep. Md., 

1832,-59. .. W. A. Burwell, rep. Va., 
1833,- 50. ^Patrick Farrell, rep. Pa., 

1834t 53. John Linn, rep. N. J., 

1834. J. Crowninshield, rep. Mass., 

1834, 50. =. P. Goodwin, rep. 
• 41. 4Thaddeus Betts, sen. 
Nathan Bryan, rep. 
I David Dickson, rep. 
.^Robert P. Henry, rep. 
»Geo. L. Kinnard, rep, 
—James Johnson, rep. 
tiwwf-Wilsonrrap. 



1835.* 

1838.» 

1838.* 

1838.» 

1833. 

1828,'49, 

1790.- 



Dec. 10, 1835, 60.» 
Dec, 1835. * 
Dec. 3, 1842, 67-. 
Dec. 2, 1842. - 
Sept. 7, 1839, 39.*- 
Dec. 12, 1822, 41.'" 
Oct. 29, 1839, 47.» 
Jan. 13, 1842, 38. " 
Jan. 29, 1842, 67.- 
Juiie 26, 1842, 55.-- 
April 17, 1842, 54. 
Oct. 18, 1840, 30* 
Feb. 23, 1842. 
May 10, 1841, 43.* 
Nov. 28, 1841, 59f» 
1836." 
1834.- 
-1826. ■ 
1834.' 
1829, 
Jan. 1, 18011- 
March 8, 1804.-- 
Feb. 16, ]82i. 
Jan. 12, 1826. 
Jan. 19, 1828. 
April 15, 1808. 
Feb. 21, 1818. 
April, 1840i 
June 4, 1798, 49. 



Ct., 
N. C, 

Miss., 1836j 

Ky., 1826;' 

la., Nov., 1836.* 

Ky., 1826;- ■ 

Pa., 1826. 

Wm. S. Hastings, rep. Mass., June 17, 1842. 

~ ~" Aug. 11, 1840, 38^1 



1828.-- «Sim. H.Anderson, rep. Ky 
1828, 42.* , Anson Brown, rep. N. Y., 
1802. tJas. C. Alvord, rep. Mass., 

1805r John Sniilie, rep. Pa., 

1637, 71.«^ John Dawson, rep. Va., 



June 14, 1840, 40.« 

Sept. 30, 1839, 31.« 

Dec. 30, 1812, 71.- 

March 13, 1814, 52. 



The tomb of Elbridoe Gerry, Vice-President of the United States, who died suddenly in this city, 
en his way to the capitol as president of the Senate, November 23d, 1814, aged 70 ; thus fulfilling his 
own memorable injunction, " it is the duty of every citizen, though he may have but one day to live, to 
devote that day to the good of his country." 



542 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

To the memory of George Clinton. He was born in the state of New York, on the 26th July, 1739, 
and died at the city of Washington on the 20th April, 1811, in the 73d year of his age. He was a soldier 
and statesman of the revolution. Eminent in council, distinguished in war, he filled with unexampled 
usefulness, purity, and ability, among many other high offices, those of governor of his native state, and 
Vice President of the United States. While he lived, his virtue, wisdom, and valor, were the pnde, the 
ornament, and security of ifts country ; and when he died, he left an illustrious example of a well-spent 
life, worthy of all imitation. 



Georgetown is in Washington county, on the ne. bank of the 
Potomac, 2 miles from Washington city, from which it is separated 
by Rock creek, over which are two bridges. It was originally laid 
out under an act of the colonial assembly of Maryland, passed 
May 15th, 1751. In 1789, the town was incorporated. 

The situation is pleasant, commanding a fine view of the Poto- 
mac River, the city of Washington, and of the adjacent country ; 
and it contains many elegant buildings and country seats. It has 
4 banks, a market-house, 7 churches — 2 Episcopal, 2 Methodist, 1 
Presbyterian, 1 Roman Catholic, and 1 colored Methodist — and a 
Roman Catholic college, with 2 spacious brick edifices, finely situ- 
ated, founded in 1789, which has a president and 16 professors, or 
other instructors, 90 alumni, 135 students, and 22,000 volumes in 
its libraries. The commencement is near the last of July. It was 
authorized by Congress, in 1815, to confer degrees. There is also 
a nunnery, called the Convent of Visitation, founded in 1798, 
which contains from 50 to 70 nuns, attached to which is a large 
female academy, which generally contains 100 young ladies, in- 
structed by the nuns. The Cliesapeake and Ohio canal com- 
mences at this place, which is designed to be extended to the Ohio 
River, and which has been recently continued to Alexandria. The 
aqueduct which connects the canal with Alexandria is a most stu- 
pendous work. The piers, nine in number, are built of granite, and 
imbedded 17 feet in the bottom of the river, with a foundation upon 
solid rock, so as to withstand the shock of the spring ice, which, rush- 
ing furiously from the stormy regions of the falls and narrows above, 
passes with almost resistless force against the bridges of the Poto- 
mac, sweeping every thing before it. These piers, built in the 
most masterly manner, will bear up against any force that may 
be brought against them. There were in 1840, 7 commercial and 
2 commission houses, capital $310,000 ; 23 retail stores, capital 
$247,400 ; 2 lumber yards, capital $20,000 ; 2 tanneries, 1 print- 
ing-office, 1 semi-weekly newspaper, 1 flouring-mill, producing 
10,500 barrels annually ; 1 saw-mill. Capital in manufac. $154,700. ' 
Six academies, 484 students ; 9 schools, 435 scholars. Pop. in 
1810,4,948; 1820,7,360; 1830,8,441; 1840,7,312. Tonnage of 
the port, 9,964. 

. Alexandria, originally called Beihaven, is on the western bank 
of the Potomac, near the head of tide-water, 6 miles south of 
Washington. The tovi^n lies principally in the District of Colum- 
bia, but a small part of it is in Virginia. It was incorporated in 
1779, by the state of Virginia, and that part of it within the Dis- 
trict ceded to the general government in 1801. The laws of Vir- 
,ginia, previously ceded, remain in force in the town and county. 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 543 

Alexandria is very handsomely situated. The streets are laid 
out on the plan of Philadelphia, crossing each other at right an- 
gles, and are generally well paved. It is considered remarkably 
healthy, and the view from the city is very fine. The town is 
situated in the bottom of a valley, which to the eye of an observer 
is terminated in every direction by lofty and verdant hills. To the 
north he sees the city of Washington, — the capitol with its beau- 
tiful columns, white walls, and towering dome, forming a most 
conspicuous object ; to the south, the broad translucent expanse 
of the Potomac opens upon him, with Fort Washington, lying like 
a white line on its distant margin, opposite to Mount Vernon. 

The river opposite to the town is a mile in breadth, and varies 
from 34 to 52 feet in depth, in the ship channel, which here washes 
the shore, — of course the harbor is naturally very fine, and it has 
been much improved by the erection of large and commodious 
wharves. 

The population in 1800, was 4,196 ; in 1810, 7,227 ; in 1820, 
8,218; in 1840,8,459. The public buildings are a court-house, 
and 10 churches — 2 Presbyterian, 2 Episcopal, 2 Methodist, 1 Bap- 
tist, 1 Friends, 1 colored Methodist, and 1 Roman Catholic. The 
city has considerable shipping, and exports wheat, Indian corn, and 
tobacco, to a considerable amount. The tonnage of the port in 
1840, was 14,470. The Chesapeake and Ohio canal extends to 
this place, and may be expected to add to its prosperity. It has 2 
banks, with an aggregate capital of ^1,000,000 ; and 1 fire, and 1 
marine insurance company. It is governed by a mayor, and a 
common council of 16 members. 

About three miles from Alexandria, in Fairfax county, is the 
Virginia Theological Seminary, an institution founded in 1822, by 
the Protestant Episcopal Church of the diocese of Virginia. The 
bishop of the diocese, the Right Rev. William Meade, D. D., is 
president of the faculty. It has 4 professors, 53 students, and a 
library of about 4,000 volumes. 

An interesting incident occurred at Alexandria in the life of 
Washington. It is given below, as it has often been published : 

Wh«n Col. Washington was stationed at Alexandria, in 1754, 
there was an election for members of the Assembly, when Mr. 
W. Payne opposed the candidate supported by Washington. In , 
the course of the contest, Washington grew warm, and said some- 
thing offensive to Mr. Payne, who, at one blow, extended him on 
the ground. The regiment heard that their colonel was murdered 
by the mob, and they were soon under arms, and in rapid motion 
to the town to inflict punishment on the supposed murderers. To 
their great joy he came out to meet them, thanking them for such 
a proof of attachment, but conjuring them by their love for him 
and their duty, to return peaceably to their barracks. Feeling 
himself to be the aggressor, he resolved to make honorable repa- 
ration. Early next morning he wrote a polite note to Mr. Payne, 
requesting to see him at the tavern. Payne repaired to the place 



544 DISTRICT OF COLUiMBIA. •■ 

appointed, in expectation of a duel ; but what was his surprise to 
see wine and glasses in lieu of pistols. Washington rose to meet 
him, and smiling as he offered his hand, began, " Mr. Payne, to err 
is nature ; to rectify error is glory. I believe I was wrong yester- 
day ; you have already had some satisfaction, and if you deem 
that sufficient, here is my hand — let us be friends." An act of 
such sublime virtue produced its proper effect, and Mr. Payne 
was from that moment an enthusiastic a'dmirqivof Washington. 



THE END. 



NOTE. 
On page 282, evidence is present^ to prove that Shelly, in Gloucester county, was the spot 
where Pocahontas rescued Capt. sAth. Since that form was printed, we have received a let- 
ter from the author of the artici^^lluded to, in which he says : " From a description of 
Werowocomoco, the scene of Smith's rescue, in ' Newes from Virginia,' (by Smith) republished 
in the last [January 1845] number of the Southern Literary Messenger, and from other cir- 
cumstances, I am now satisfied that I was mistaken in supposing the scene of the rescue was 
at Shelly, and that it was some miles lower down York river, at or near what is still known 
as ' Powhatan's Chimney ;' which I take it, was attached to the house built for the Emperor 
by the English." 



LE N '09 



